May the force be with you
by IThinkIJustGleedMyself
Summary: A/U - Life is about to be turned upside down for Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry when the Empress and her imperialist fleet threatens the peace within the galaxy.
1. Escape from New Oh - io5

**So I watched star wars for the first time ever a couple of days ago and got insanely inspired. Thus, a new fic is born. There are going to be some similarities with star wars but hopefully not too much plot wise.**

 **Either way, please enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Escape from New Oh - io5**

 _The planets live in a state of peace, the senate keeping order to the legion_

 _of the galaxy while governed by Emma, the Madame President. Her close adviser,_

 _Will Schuester, plays part in a bigger role. The finding and training of those able_

 _to wield the force._

 _Ever since the death of Luke Skywalker, there have been few with this ability. It_

 _is said that four will prevail with the force, using it for good to keep the balance_

 _within the galaxy._

 _An evil empress, Sue Sylvester, also searches for those. Not to train them but to_

 _destroy them. Banished by the senate, she wishes nothing more that to watch_

 _the world filled with misery, while being the supreme leader. She has been waiting,_

 _building her army in secret until the right time to attack. Now she is ready, but_

 _the senate may not be . . ._

* * *

Will Schuester sits in the room of records, staring at the shelves of books. Knowledge of the past and all its secrets. Knowledge beyond compare.

But it's not the past that worries him tonight.

It's the present.

A heavy weight looms over him, one that he's never experienced before and one that he dreads. A presence is here – waiting, _watching_.

For what though?

He stands suddenly, taking to a brisk pace around the marbled floor as he thinks. It's only a knock on the door that brings him from deep within his mind.

"Will?"

The man turns, cloak floating in turn with him. "Burt," he greets the senator with a smile, "how are you?"

"Honestly?" the burly man sighs, moving to sit down, "troubled. The Madame President hasn't returned from her travels to the Bravo systems and we have received no communications from the Captain. I am beginning to suspect foul play."

 _Emma_. Will's heart beats frantically at the news, mind jumping to the worst scenario. He forces a calm façade, though inside it can only be described as turmoil. "Foul play, you say? But her guards are the best in the galaxy, what could have possibly happened to them?"

Burt appears thoughtful, yet grave. "The same thing that happened to Senators Figgins and Bieste."

He holds in a gasp.

"Sue Sylvester."

"The _Empress_ ," he adds, a bitter taste in his mouth, "as she is calling herself."

He throws his hands up in confusion, "She doesn't have the resources to do this." His frown deepens, face carved with worry lines, "she was banished." Disbelief lines his words, not to mention a reluctance to believe Burt's words.

"I don't know how she's doing it, but everything is pointing toward her. She wants revenge, and she's clearly not going to stop at anything to get it."

Will ponders his statement. "How serious is this threat to the senate?"

"With our Madame President? _Extremely_. She could gain control in a matter of weeks."

"Then I must go rescue her."

"Will," Burt sighs, "Do you really think that is wise?" He hints toward something they've never spoken about aloud, but they've both known to be true for a while.

He purses his lips. "I will not let my feelings cloud my way."

"I fear they already have." He rises to his feet now, standing smaller than Will but seemingly so much bigger in that moment. Will does nothing to hide his disappointment, though inside he knows that there is truth in Burt's words. "I will take my men, and you must stay here. Continue your training of the young ones."

"There is not much left to train them, Burt," he admits, "everything that we know of the old ways has been given to them. I cannot fill in the gaps."

He places a firm hand on his shoulder. "You must teach them all you know. If the rumours are true, then Sue's fleet is building and we are running out of time. They may be our only hope."

A long pause follows, "but we have not yet found the fourth."

"It will happen. Have faith." His face is tired as he speaks the next words. "Now I must go and prepare my ship. Please, keep an eye on my son while I am gone."

"Kurt will be fine." A smile finally graces his lips. "Your son is strong."

Burt returns it, eyes fond, "I know, but he has a knack for trouble. I think Finn has been too much of an influence on him."

"Finn is a good kid, too. He just . . . needs to find his purpose."

"He needs to find ways to stop me from having an early heart attack," he jokes, "he and that Puckerman are _very_ good at testing me." Will can't disagree with that. Finn, though twenty one, is still struggling with the jump into adulthood, and he only hopes that he makes it soon.

Another knock sounds around the large room, the two men turning in anticipation. "Sir, we've had a problem."

Burt raises his brow. "What is it?" he asks, impatient.

"Your ship, sir. It's gone."

" _Gone_?"

The man, barely over twenty, cowers under the gaze of his superior. Will doesn't blame him – Burt can be quite intimidating when he wants. "And who, dare I ask, has taken it?"

"Master Hudson, sir."

Burt sighs, a slow motion face palm following.

Looks like today isn't the day that Finn is delving into adulthood.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Finn asks as he stares ahead with concentration. The uncertainty is his eyes gives his feelings away, causing Puck to roll his own.

"Stop being such a pussy." He then smirks, tongue poking dangerously out between his lips, "Sam says that Chokko City is awesome. Drinks, girls – you can even see the asteroid showers from the planet's surface. That's some real romantic shit right there." He spins in his seat, flicking switches in a well-rehearsed pattern. When his enthusiasm doesn't reach Finn, he shoves his side to evoke a response.

Finn grumbles, punching him back, " _what was that for?"_

"Pay attention," he punches the line.

"I am."

Once again, his words betray him. And Finn feels . . . really weird. Okay, so he always feels kinda shitty when he steals his step – dad's ship, but this is different than some well-placed guilt. This is - it's _new_. A dread that fills every tendril inside of him and has his hands trembling as he controls the ship. Even Puck seems to notice.

He pauses in his long speech of what antics they'll get up to in Chokko. "You alright, dude?"

"Yeah . . ." Finn starts, blinking himself back into the control room. "I just –"

His words are cut short as the alarm system sounds, red blazing around the room as the two scramble to figure out what's wrong.

"Missile," Puck confirms, homing in with the computer, "not too far, either." He doesn't linger, "I'll man the gun. You think you can handle her by yourself?"

Finn, holding in his panic, nods determinedly, altering all the controls to manual. "Yeah, I can do it." His eyes scan back to the screen, "be quick, Puck. This thing is not giving up." He tries to steer away from it, but it's dead – locked on the ship. He can feel his pulse in his ears, blood coursing excitedly through his veins as the chase begins and his piloting skills are really tested. His grip is painfully tight on the controls, tugging the ship this way and that to try and evade the missile.

"IT'S NOT GOING AWAY!" Puck hollers from below.

His head spins, "Any idea where it came from?" His eyes lock straight ahead, looking for anywhere to lose it. "Could be rogue?"

He hears Puck scoff. " _Rogue_? It's coming right for us!" Finn inwardly curses, knowing his friend to be right. His confusion skyrockets as he sees no sign of a ship behind them. "I knew we shouldn't have come to the outerim," Puck continues, "full of pirates and crazy people who _SHOOT AT YOU FOR NO REASON_!" A series of slams and yells follows.

"Chill dude," he insists. Finn deepens his breaths, trying to remain in control. "BB – 8, come on bud. I'mma need you." He doesn't need to turn to hear his droid powering into action, a series of beeps alerting him to his alartness. "I need you to focus all power to the hyper drive," he explains, "I need to make a jump to lightspeed and I need to do it now."

BB – 8 rolls beside him, entering the ship's main control panel and beginning its work. The cockpit feels relatively calm despite Puck cursing and yelling as he shoots at their target. But the façade of success is broken through as the ship suddenly lurches forward, but not from any of his doing.

"WE'VE BEEN HIT!" Puck announces, frustration growing, "our blasters are gone."

"Shit, shit, _shit_ ," Finn murmurs, "BB – 8, gimme some good news." The droid rudely beeps back, "this is _not_ the time to be patient." Footsteps alert him to Puck's return, the man jumping back into his seat and pointing to the screen.

"More, Finn. There are _two_ more. _What_ is going on?"

"I don't know but I don't like it." He clenches his teeth, doubt setting in. The ship frantically moves about the sky, weaving and dodging around the now three missiles intent on the falcon. The alarm systems plus Puck's incessant shouting send his adrenaline up once more, eyes narrowing ahead.

 _Still_ no sign of anywhere to hide.

Then he hears BB – 8 excitedly beeping behind him, and he doesn't hesitate to make his move. Without a second thought he turns on the hyper drive and squeezes his eyes shut in hope.

Then silence.

His breath held and body still, he panics for a moment. Is he dead? He can feel the heat of the malfunctioning ship, then the alarms begin to grow louder and louder again as his senses once more allow everything back in. For a moment, he'd been able to push everything away until there was nothing.

Finn frowns, no time to dwell on it as he realizes they're not out of danger.

" ** _Stop the ship_**!" Puck continues to yell in his ear, so loud that he thinks he might be deaf now.

His eyes focus in on the planet, the same one that they're rocketing towards at a ridiculously fast speed, so much that they breach the atmosphere in a matter of seconds. The falcon shakes through it, debris falling off as it struggles to slow down.

The boy tries to ignore his friend's shouting. "I'm landing her, _okay_?" _More like crash landing_ , he thinks, eyes wide and terrified. The falcon screeches in protest as he tries to slow her too soon, sending BB – 8 rolling backwards and crashing into the door. "Sorry!" he winces, then adds, "we can't slow down in time!"

Puck's head snaps toward him. " _What_?" He tries helping with the controls, but this eventually leads way to just banging the console and screaming out profanities. "Finn, if we die I'm gonna kill you!"

"We won't die!" he shouts, then hesitates, ". . . I think."

* * *

Rachel narrows her eyes at the latest guard to hurry her along – done this time with a strong shove forward. "I'm walking!" she hisses back, only to earn the same response. She groans, a combination of frustration, hopelessly and exhaustion. The sun beats down even through the thick, dark canopy of leaves; she feels sweat beading on her forehead.

Her curiosity peaks as she spies the single spire of smoke rising toward the golden sky, trying to look past the next engineer to see better, but failing. Damn her height! "Alright," Zimio grumbles aloud, not bothering to address any of them in particular. He points behind him, expression disinterested, "you know the drill. Anything valuable to be brought out, ya da ya da." Then his eyes harden, "and if any of you vermin try to steal any of it, then it's twenty lashes!"

She only rolls her eyes – being threatened is hardly a big affair any more. Why, it hasn't been even an hour since she was last threatened. One grows desensitised to this sort of stuff, you know? Still, she gets to work as best she can. The ship is large, well – built and beautifully maintained. Well . . . other than it having crashed, but that's a minor problem. Rachel stays out of the way of the other workers, finding herself in the main control room.

"I wonder who you belong to," she says aloud, stroking the battered console. No doubt the poor captain is now one of Karosky's prisoners . . . just like her. She gives a sorrowful sigh; she wouldn't wish this life on anyone.

Still, the ship offers solace from the growing humidity, and she supposes this is better than rotting away in some cell.

The ship intrigues her; with its advanced AI and selenechrome hardware, she finds herself no longer looking for anything salvageable but admiring the craftsmanship. Even with such a crash, having clearly approached the surface at a ridiculous speed, the majority of it remains intact. Just a few damaged motors and the control connection gone, though it's not like it's hard to override that.

Something else prods at her mind, coaxing out more questions. "Where did you come from?" She wonders, "You're not from the outer rim." This ship belong to something with status or money . . . or _both_.

Unable to help herself, she lowers herself to the captain's chair and wishes she could just fly this thing out of here. A smile dares to climb on her lips, for all of a few seconds.

" ** _Hurry up in there!_** "

She jumps as Zimio bangs on the door, words harsh. Her shoulders slump in an instant, the nineteen year old slinking from her dreams to carry on inspecting the ship. Then, another noise, echoing in the metal work beneath her. Rachel's forehead scrunches together, before she opens the hatch behind the driver's chair.

She peers inside, "hello?"

To her surprise, a BB – 8 unit peers back at her, its outer casing dented by what she presumes was the crash landing. Upon spotting her, it beeps frantically and shoots a spark of electricity her way. "Hey, _hey_!" She jumps up, "I'm not going to hurt you." Rachel's voice lowers, eyes sincere, "How did you end up down there?"

It stares up in silence then, as though trying to figure her out. She frowns, shifting unsurely under the scrutiny of the droid. "Here," Rachel stares softly, lifting him onto the deck with a slight groan. The BB – 8 moves around the room, searching. "What are you looking for?"

It beeps in response, rolling back toward her.

"Your master?" she asks, "where is he now?"

More frantically the unit replies now, whizzing around the room as it recalls the event. As she suspected, the passengers on board have been taken prisoner by her own captor, and they'd stored him away to keep him safe. She pauses at the next few noises it gives. " _You_?" Her brow rises, "you want to help them? Look, you don't know Karofsky, there is no way that you're going to get in there without being captured yourself. Do you know how valuable droids are around these parts?"

It shakes its head.

"Well, your plan isn't going to work. So I suggest you escape to town and find a new owner there." She admits the next part with a heavy sadness, "no one escapes from Karofsky."

BB – 8 refuses to accept her answer, nudging itself into her leg as it responds. "You think _I_ can help?" It gives an affirmative beep. "Well, I _can't_ ," she hisses. "If I knew how to escape I wouldn't be here, would I? I'd be somewhere else in the galaxy that isn't this swamp wasteland!" The unit almost becomes annoyed with her, which seems baffling to Rachel. It's rare that she gets to see such advanced droids.

" _No_!" She insists, "I'm not helping. You don't think I've got my own problems?" It rears up ready to barge into her again.

"No, stop it. _Ow_."

She watches it with agitation, lifting her foot to kick the droid only to find out that her foot is no match for its casing. "Ow, ow, ow, why did I think that would be a good idea?" She laments to herself.

A series of beeps follows that she swears are laughing. "Why you little –"

"Berry." She jumps as another guards enters the control room, staring at her in confusion. "What the hell is all that noise?" His glare puts her in her place, the girl taking a step backwards.

"It was the droid!" she points to the BB – 8, before quickly realizing her mistake. Okay, the droid is a little frustrating, but she doesn't want Karofsky of all people to have it. But when she peers down it's returned to low power, no signs of life from the little unit. She plays along, wondering how much she's going to regret this. "It – it . . . it got damaged – in the landing! Photoreceptor is shot and tracking software down." He gives her an unimpressed look, urging her to get on with it. Kneeling beside it, she bangs against its motor, wincing a little as it sends a minor shock of electricity around its circumference. Definitely _on purpose_. "Solid droid though," she continues, "it just needs some parts replacing if I could take it up to the workshop?"

He seems to consider this for a moment, peering back between her and the droid, until he sighs. "You better not be wrong about this, kid. One more mistake and Karofsky ain't gonna be happy with you."

She frowns, not having needed the reminder.

The guard glances around the room, looking lost among it. "Come on, let's get off this galactic garbage, and bring the droid with you."

"Yes sir!" she gives a mock salute, only for him to glower her way. Rachel peers away awkwardly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He takes off quickly, allowing a few seconds for BB – 8 to power up once more, beeping away again. She glares at it, feeling that today is not going to be easy. "You can thank me later, first I've got to figure out how to get you to your captain."

* * *

"Let us out of here!" Finn kicks at the door, ignoring the pain blazing through his foot. Defeated, her hops back over to the wall not moments later and groans, "I can't take this anymore."

"Well if you stopped trying to break your foot," Puck deadpans from the corner. He continues to work his way through the wiring to the cell door, cursing every time he shocks himself.

He is quick to quip back, "You know what I mean." He stares through the tiny cubby hole into the dark chamber which teems with the filth of society. Crooks and criminals all gather, jeering away in the masses. Finn's eyes move over to their leader, a well built, arrogant man by the name of Karofsky. He's heard of him, but only the warning stories that Burt had laid upon whoever would listen. Finn stares with disgust as Karofsky watches two droids fight to the death, laughing each time one jolts away in an attempt to escape.

Once more, he bangs the door in frustration, mind drifting back to his own BB – 8 unit. He just hopes that the clever little droid can figure out a way to help them, even if it's just relaying a message back home. He'd take Burt yelling at him any day over being trapped in this desolate cell.

Then his eyes catch something, a flash of orange and white in the far distance. It looks an awful lot like the droid he'd just been thinking about, only his heart sinks when he realizes it's showing no sign of life, carried in the arms of a short brunette.

"Puck!" he chokes out, "they have BB – 8!" Finn narrows his eyes, "or . . . I think it's mine. It looks like it. Ah crap, what are we gonna do now?"

"Be quiet scum!"

Finn jumps back as a scaly arm slams against the door, the awful clanging reverberating around his ears. A snarl appears on his face, the man sick of being treated so lowly. The last twenty four hours have most definitely sucked.

Determination floods his face, "Puck, you better get us out of here. I don't care if I have to fight ever piece of crap on this planet to get back to the falcon, I need to get BB – 8.

"I'm working on it," Puck mutters, a bunch of multicolored wires hanging from his mouth. "This ship is a _lot_ different to anything back home." He stares in bewilderment, "nothing but cheap fix ups and crappy work. We'll be lucky if I can do this in a few hours."

He sighs, " _great_."

Moving to peer through the door again, he frowns as there appears to be no sight of his droid any more. His heart sinks, and he yearns more than anything for his BB – 8 is still safely tucked inside the falcon and not about to befall the same fate of these poor droids before him.

* * *

"What are you _talking_ about?" Rachel stares to the droid incredulously, "I can't just walk up to the cell and let him out. I will be killed!" She turns away from BB – 8, huffing loudly as she does to show her disapproval; this droid is almost as stubborn as her, and that's some feat. It's silent in the work shop, most other prisoners having been taken back to the ship to bring it to Karofsky's collection. With valuable ships dropping from the sky more and more these days, she knows that it'll be fixed to its former glory in no time, though _captainless_ if she can't figure out a plan.

Grabbing her tools, she returns to BB – 8, kneeling on the floor before him.

Rachel sighs as he stares up at her. "We're not going to get anything done with you damaged," she says, opening his front panel. Inside, she can see a couple of the wires fried from a system's overload. The crash landing may have tested this little droid all too much.

Not too far away, she can hear the fanatic screams and shouts of those watching one of Karfosky's famous fights. It's barbaric, she thinks, to put two innocent beings against one another. But barbaric is definitely a word she'd attribute to her captor. "You have taken quite a beating," Rachel clips away the broken wires, "how did you end up landing here anyway?"

BB – 8 explains the story, too fast for her to keep up with, though she gets most of it.

"Someone was _shooting_ at you?" The droid beeps in affirmation.

Rachel's brow scrunch together, unsurely. "But why would someone do that? As she speaks, she pulls her malleator out, returning the outer casing to its former smoothness.

"Hmm," she agrees to the droid's response, "there are a lot of strange things going on lately. People disappearing, attacks on ships . . . planets." Rachel pauses, her mind lost in another world for a few moments, "I have a bad feeling that whoever attacked your ship is part of something _bigger_."

Her frown softens then, Rachel trying to cast her thoughts in a more positive direction. "Alright, you should be all set now, I even increased your power efficiency by 22 per cent," Rachel proudly announces.

The droid moves freely, its orange markings rolling dizzily around the room. It seems impressed with the upgrade, quickly beeping back at her.

"No problem," she smiles, "it's my job, so . . ." Rachel's face falls again at the mention of that, the girl quickly trying to busy herself. She peers through the door, checking that the hallway is clear before she blockades it with one of the desks. The girl prays that no one tries to get in or she can kiss goodbye to the relative freedom she has now.

"BB – 8," she whispers, "this way." She leads the droid further into the depths of spare parts and broken droids. Rachel stealthily shifts the junk out of the way, turning to BB – 8 with a grin, "time to make a plan." Up ahead, an abandoned control panel calls to them, enticing the pair with the door hanging off one hinge.

"Do you think you can reroute power to this?"

Exposing its metal arm, BB – 8 connects with the hardframe. She watches as it scans the codes, projecting them against the scratched, metal walls for her to see. "There," Rachel points to the cell blocks, "that's where they'll be. New prisoners are normally sent to the vaults, so try them."

She gasps as the droid suggests something far more risky.

" _All_ of the doors? Are you crazy?"

It gives an indignant noise.

"Wait – wait," Rachel gives a moment to think, "If we open them all, then there'll be a riot. Karofsky can't control all of the prisoners. Oh, BB – 8, you're a genius!" She inches closer, licking her lips in anticipation. A possibility suddenly looms over her, "but what if they get hurt in all the chaos?"

Her words come too late as she hears one final and very forceful _click_ , and sure enough the shouts that suddenly echo around the entire ship.

* * *

Puck stares ahead with confusion as he figures out where to earth the wires to. He's really had enough of this stupid door and if it would just open that would be great.

 _Bang, bang._

He grits his teeth as Finn kicks the walls, _again_. " **Hudson**!" he growls, a combination of frustration, hunger and tiredness bringing out the worst in him. "Stop it."

Finn knows better than to bite back. Last time he ended up getting a spanner thrown at his head, and he still has the scar to prove it. "How are we looking?" his friend tries, hopefully.

"This thing is crap!" Puck curses, slamming his fist against it. "All fucking hacked up by some space cowboy who thinks he can wire a hardrive. I think a five year old could do a better job." He rolls his stiff neck, "the only impressive thing is that there is _no_ way to override the controls.

"Yeah," Finn clenche his teeth together. " _Real_ impressive."

"You're not helping."

"I just want to be out of this cell!"

He stands up, joints painfully stiff from being glued to the same spot for hours. Puck feels lightheaded as the blood recirculates his body, but that doesn't stop him from wearing a scowl. "And you don't think I do?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Puck throws his hands in the air, eyes narrowing toward his best friend. "I don't have the right shit to jimmy the controls, you're whining like a little baby and we're stuck on some god forsaken planet because some idiot sent a missile after us!"

Finn seems to be wearing the anger that he's feeling. And for a second Puck thinks Finn might actually punch him, but he doesn't. Instead, he places on well aimed kick toward the hacked wires and controls, face scrunching up in pain as his foot lands on the strong selenium. "Ahh, _fuck_!"

But Puck couldn't care less right now. "Finn," he reaches for him, eyes staring out in amazement and bewilderment.

" _What_?"

". . . The door is open."

His friend spins in an instant. "The door is wha –"

"Let's get outta here." He grabs hold of him tightly, dragging his lanky friend with all the strength he has (Finn is hard to lug around, okay) and rushing out in the stream of escaping prisoners. "What do we do? What do we do?" But when he spins, he finds Finn running in the _opposite_ direction of everyone else. "Finn, what the hell are you doing?"

"They had my droid!" he shouts from afar.

"Your _droid_?"

He runs full pelt after him.

"Yes," Finn punctuates, a new lease of life in him.

"If you get me killed for a droid –"

"It's not just _any_ droid."

Puck groans; _why_ does he have to be friends with Mr fucking noble?

So they run, past fleeing prisoners, past the remnants of broken droids, and past a shit loads of guards who try to throw in a few punches. They dodge, just about, but Puck still follows with reluctance. As he's running, he suddenly spots something, eyes widening in delight. "Finn, Finn."

" _What_?"

"It's the falcon, it's _here_."

This slows down the boy, who appears suddenly conflicted.

Puck makes the decision for him. "You go get BB – 8, I'll get her ready, okay?" With that, he runs toward the ship, and the only chance they have of escaping. He just hopes that Finn makes it back to him, too.

* * *

Carole stares out of the window, staring as crafts fly this way and that. She tries to distract herself with the scenery, yet nothing works. In the end, she gives out a wistful sigh and moves toward her mug.

Nursing the warm drink, she feels slightly better.

"I'm sure he's fine."

She glances up at the sight of her step son, smiling. He's wearing his training robe, hair perfectly coiffed and certainty in his eyes. "He's gone too far this time," she states, trying to sound convincing. If anything, she just wants her baby home.

Kurt arches his brow, "Carole, he's just young."

"I know, but taking one of Burt's ships? _Especially_ the falcon." She lets out a puff of air, annoyance flooding her features, "I just don't know what to do with him anymore. Stealing, vandalism – he's not even sleeping properly these days. Just mumbles something about weird dreams."

"Oh, with the girl? And the island?"

She nods blankly. "I'm worried about him. He's getting out of control." She tries to ignore the frustration that she feels at the whole situation, at the rift being put between her and Burt, but mostly at how she's struggling to protect Finn.

Carole sighs, lowering herself to the nearest chair. Kurt follows, placing a soft hand on hers, "he'll come home, just like he always does."

"And then what? He just goes gallivanting off again." A groan follows, "I just don't know what to do with him."

"Finn loves you," he insists, "and he'll do anything for you, Carole. He's a momma's boy."

"Pfft, he's hardly a _boy_ anymore." At six foot two, there's no denying that her little Finn is definitely a man.

Her step son smirks, "you and me both know he's still a boy at heart. Or, he _wants_ to be." He nudges her side, "he just needs pushing on the right path. My dad actually was talking about some academy."

She bristles then, annoyance returning. "He is not going to be shipped off to some training academy just so we can be rid of a problem. He belongs _here_ , with us. His family."

Kurt's face is grave, lips pursed together. "We'll just have to see how it pans out. I mean, I love my brother but if I had a dime every time he did something stupid I could buy half the galaxy."

Deflating even further, her frown deepens. She just hopes he hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble this time.

* * *

"BB – 8, stop going so fast," Rachel tries to pursue the small droid, but she's going as fast as her legs will allow her. She inwardly curses her small height. Adrenaline pumps through her veins, her head spinning as she comprehends what they've just done.

She can't stop to think about the consequences. They've got to find BB – 8's captain, and _now_.

Rachel watches with dashing hopes as the small droid surges ahead, leaving her in its dust. The reality of what she's allowed to happen is crashing around her, the chaos almost too much to take in. Everywhere she looks, fighting and shooting takes place, and she can practically _feel_ the pain of all those caught in the crossfire.

"Hey!" She tries desperately again, "wait!"

The droid disappears around a corner and out of her sight, her heart sinking as she watches helplessly. Rachel's decision seems all the more worse when she runs into Zimio, the man working on rounding up any prisoners who dare cross his path. She stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide and pulse ringing in her ears. _I'm not going back to being a prisoner_ , she thinks, gritting her teeth together.

"Berry." His voice is harsh, matching their desolate surroundings.

Rachel stands her ground.

He pauses, taking in her expression. "You had something do with this, didn't you?" Without a second's hesitation, he's gaining on her, blaster pointed toward the girl who instinctively dodges each shot. She impresses herself with her own level of co – ordination.

But it's not enough; he's advancing quickly and she fears she'll be herded with the rest of the recaptured prisoners. She rushes backwards, pulling over anything and everything to slow his advance.

"Come here, you little runt!"

She squeaks as a shot flies straight past her head, darkness staining the wall beside her. Pulling her hands away from protecting her head, she starts running again, but with the feel of him hot of her heels. Lungs panting with exertion and fuelled only on adrenaline, she flees toward Karofsky's junkyard. Maybe she can find something to escape in. _Anything_.

A hand finds her arm, grasping around it sharply. Rachel winces, her whole body forced into a painful stop as she stares, wide eyed and desperate at Zimio. "Let me go," she struggling, kicking her legs in a final attempt. When one just misses his crotch, he tightens his hold on her, attempting to push her into a nearby cell.

 _Thud_

Rachel winces as a pipe swings around, meeting him square on the side of the head. His eyes roll backwards, whites stares at her has he falls to the floor and reveals her savior.

The man is breathless, holding the weapon as though he doesn't know where his actions came from. It tumbles to the ground when he spies her, eyes holding her in a gaze that she can't quite place. His mousy brown hair is tussled, matted with sweat and dirt, which too is swiped over his fair skin. A boyishly handsome face hides beneath, one which looks as lost as she feels. But there's something else, something awfully _familiar_.

She stares back, searching his face and waiting for words.

"You," he states, barely a whisper but she catches it.

Her lips break from a uniform line into a deep frown, forehead scrunched tightly.

There is little time to think as more trouble follows them, this time a white armored figure appearing from the darkness and pointing his menacing looking weapon toward the man. She reacts on instinct, reaching for the blaster from Zimio's hands and shooting freely. Her target stumbles, yet his march continues.

"We need to go," she says firmly, reaching out for him.

Just as he lifts his hand, they both pause when they hear the shrill beeps of BB – 8 who surges back toward them, most of the suited guards behind him.

"BB – 8!" They announce in unison, turning to each other in confusion.

No time to question, she thinks, beginning her run toward the nearest exit. "This way!" she announces, dodging as blasters take aim at them. To her surprise, the suited attackers seem not to care if prisoner or captor, and instead shoot at all in their way. Her mind spins in confusion.

 ** _Who_ are they?**

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" the man asks, easily keeping up with her in long strides. She nods surely, skidding around a corner and smiling as sunlight streams into the exit calling to them.

The pair pant in turn as they run, gasping for air as they set foot on the planet's surface. The dry grass crunches beneath their feet as she leads him and BB – 8 toward Karofsky's junkyard. Hundreds of ships lay dormant, some snatched by escaping prisoners and others, of less value, lay abandoned.

"Wait," he stops her, suddenly spotting something in the distance, "this way."

" _Where are you going_?" she hisses back, turning to him with a look of scorn.

He promptly ignores it. "My friend and my ship are that way – I'm _not_ leaving them behind."

Rachel's frown deepens, but the sudden appearance of their pursuers has her running alongside him. "Why are they shooting at _us_?" Aren't they the innocent ones?

"I keep asking myself that question lately," he grumbles, seeming to be running low on energy as they slow through the maze of ships. Her lungs painfully cry for her to stop, but she can't. She's only reminded of this fact as more blasts shoot over their heads.

"Finn, over here!"

She peers up at the sight of another man, this time shorter, tanned. His face seems more matured than the other's, dark eyes and slight lines carved into his skin. Still, he wears the same expression of terror that they wear. Her eyes rise the height of the ship, heart skipping as she recognises it as the one from this morning.

" _You're_ the captain from the ship landing?" she questions, for a moment forgetting that they are being hunted.

He spins around, face twisted in confusion. "What?"

"This ship," Rachel states, "it belongs to you."

Finn nods, then hesitates, "well . . . not exactly. But if you don't hurry up it's not gonna be ours for long." With that, he takes the final few strides toward the door, the metal creaking up his and the other man's weight. Rachel makes it too, BB – 8 whizzing in beside her.

"Who the fuck is this?"

Rachel suddenly finds herself the sole piece of attention and while she normally thrives under it, she feels uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"Just start the ship," Finn rushes past the man and toward the control room. She has no choice but to follow, shadowing the familiar steps she had taken before. The pair before her jump into action, a well-rehearsed play of switches and levers. Rachel watches, hands clung onto the nearest surface as the ship judders into action, lifting from the dusty surface of the planet.

Still, she can hear the attack continue – they're _still_ being shot at. She just hopes that the ship can withstand more damage while they take off . . . which doesn't seem to be happening yet. Rachel frowns, focussing away from her thoughts to see the two struggling.

"What's wrong?" she shouts; the one on the left winces, as though he'd forgotten she was there.

Her heart beats wildly as the ships heavily thuds to the ground once more.

Finn frowns, "something is wrong with the thrusters." He frantically tries to reroute the problem, though comes up short.

"They were damaged in the crash," she states, "Karofsky probably replaced them with a 43A model which means that you have to ease her into it. You can't just go full power."

The two turn, and only stare.

She shifts uncomfortably.

"How do _you_ know what he did to it?" The dark haired one asks.

"I –"

"And why would I trust you?" he continues, "I don't even know you."

But when he turns to Finn, the man has already turned around and began tapping away at the control panel. "You with me, or what?" he asks, pausing.

He earns a glare, then, "yeah, yeah. We'll do it _her_ way then."

Rachel's frown deepens, eyes narrowing. Neither catch it.

The ship is still taking a lot of fire, a noisy affair that has her heart beating out of her chest. She turns to BB – 8, who unsteadily moves around the control room as they slowly start rising in the air. This time, they make it higher, and she hears the tell-tale whirling of the engines.

Finn pulls back on the control, aiming them for the atmosphere. "Hey, kid," he turns to her, giving a lopsided smile that _screams_ familiarity, "you might wanna hold onto something."

She takes his advice, moving over to the nearest seat and gripping on for dear life. Is now the best time to tell them that she's never actually been off this planet? Her stomach wobbles uncertainly at the movement of the ship, growing worse as their speed increases.

"Making a jump to lightspeed."

"Right," Finn agrees, "let's get off this god forsaken planet."

She would be offended, but she pretty much agrees with them. This is her escape from this planet, too. Into a world unknown, yet one that is calling out to her for something more. She can feel that she has a greater purpose somewhere. Just . . . _where_?

* * *

Finn's mind is _not_ on piloting.

It is currently a big pot of swirling confusion that he can't seem to shift. He peers back to where the girl is holding on for dear life, BB – 8 clutched onto the walls beside her, and then returns his gaze ahead.

They seem to have lost their pursuers, though that's the least of his worries. And yeah, Burt is going to kill him for causing so much damage to the falcon but he sort of hopes he's more relieved that he and Finn are alive. They could still be rotting away in that cell.

"So?"

He spins around to face Puck.

"What?" He blinks.

Puck doesn't believe his innocence, eyes leading Finn to the girl. Now that the ship has slowed into a steady rhythm, she is detaching herself from the seat, face slightly green. He sighs, "Some guy was trying to hurt her. I couldn't leave her behind."

"She knows about Karofsky," he hisses, leaning in closer, "about what he did to the ship – what if she's one of his lowlifes and we're headed into a trap?"

"Dude, come on."

"I'm being serious!"

Finn is shaking his head before he can even register, "nah, I don't think so. She was being chased by those people too." He casts his mind back to seeing her, his troubling realization hitting him once again. That thought is pushed away quickly, to be dealt with later, "plus she knew BB – 8, and he doesn't trust people easily."

Though he gives a scoff, Puck doesn't seem to argue with that.

"If you're talking about me, I'd at least like to be allowed in the conversation," a stern voice suddenly sounds behind them, causing both of them to jump out of their skin. They turn, finding the girl with her arms crossed and face wound into a look of annoyance.

Finn has the decency to look apologetic. Puck does not.

"We're just wondering how trustworthy you are," he shrugs.

" _You_ are," Finn corrects.

"I saved your lives," she announces, outraged. Her arm cross haughtily over her chest, "if it wasn't for me, you'd still be rotting in that cell."

"Excuse me now?"

He nudges Puck, a silent message for him to drop the damn attitude.

She groans, turning to BB – 8. "I found your droid in your ship – they were going to use him for parts but I brought him back to Karofsky's ship and together we unlocked the doors." Her gaze averts elsewhere, pride suddenly swelling in her face, "and I don't want to blow my own horn, but I also improved systems operations on him, so you're welcome."

Finn only stares, wondering how she'd changed emotions so quickly.

He turns to his droid, "is that true, bud?"

BB – 8 nods his head, rolling back and forth between him and the girl eagerly. He lets out a sigh, "she saved you?"

It beeps once more.

When he turns back to the girl, she's beaming toward him. "Now," she starts, "I never wanted to intrude, but it looks like we're in a rather prickly situation. Fugitives, fleeing galatic criminals together. You two strapping young men and me, the ingénue on her first interplanetary trip." Finn's pretty sure that only half of those are real words.

"You're never flown before?!" Puck asks in shock.

She frowns slightly, though shakes off his disbelief. "I've been rather . . . _engaged_ in the past few years." After a drawn out pause a smile springs back to her lips, "but I feel like now is the perfect time to start anew." She throws her hand out in greeting, "I'm Rachel Berry."

"Noah Puckerman," Puck slowly strides from his seat, ignoring her gestures and sauntering past her, "but call me Puck." He turns back to Finn, "I'm going to check the thermal vindicators. Don't wait up." They both watch as the door closes behind him, BB – 8 following and leaving just him with Rachel.

He swallows nervously.

"Thank you," he starts, "for getting us out of there. I don't know what we would have done if you didn't."

"It's okay – you weren't the only one escaping." Her chocolate eyes look anywhere but at him.

" _You_?"

She looks down, wringing her hands together. "I've been there five years. I tried stealing a ship and then . . . you know."

It hadn't even occurred to him that she too were a prisoner, though not as he takes in her appearance it makes all the more sense. Her clothes are ripped, dirty; the same dark grey that the rest of the ship was. With a heavy heart, he notices the faded bruises and cuts that lay over her olive skin.

Rachel shifts slightly under his gaze, then clears her throat. "So, Finn, right?"

He smiles, "yeah."

She smiles, too. "Alright Finn, what's the plan now?"

"Get the hell out of this system and go home," he starts, turning backing to face the controls. It's on autopilot for home, yet he still checks everything is in order. He fills with surprise as she sits herself in Puck's chair, staring out to space in awe. "Not be killed by some random bunch of criminals," he laughs wryly, "and um, probably get in a ridiculous amount of trouble for stealing the falcon."

"The falcon?" she tilts her head in confusion.

"The millennium falcon," he says, "she's the ship."

Rachel smiles unsurely. "She's a she?"

"Of course she is!"

"Wait, you _stole_ her?"

He waves off any concerns, correcting his words. " _Borrowed_. From my step dad – er, without permission." He then shrugs, "but don't worry, it's not like it's the first time.

That doesn't seem to fill her with confidence.

"And um," she worries her plump lower lip, "what do you think is going to happen to me?"

He frowns, suddenly remembering that the only home she's ever had is becoming farther and farther away. "My step dad works for the senate," he assures her, "nothing bad will happen to you. Like you said, new start."

Rachel nods, suddenly falling into silence. It remains like that for a while, and every so often she feels her eyes on him. She appears as though she's pondering something.

He is too. Deeply, _deeply_ pondering.

Today has been a whirlwind adventure, greater than anything he's ever done. The icing on the cake is that he's met the girl that he dreams about, quite _literally._ And he has no idea what the hell that means for him.

* * *

 **Pretty excited for this one, not gonna lie :D Please review guys!**


	2. Betrayed

**You won't believe how happy I am so see so many people interested in this fic. I really hope I can keep you all on board and do justice to the star wars side of it too. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.**

 **Please enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 2

Betrayed

* * *

" **You let them get away?!** "

Jesse St James watches as Sue stomps around her chamber, a scowl prominent on her face. She turns, wrinkled eyes narrowing toward him. "Well?" she asks, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

He holds himself high even as her hawk like gaze bores down on him. "They had help," he says simply.

" _Help_?"

The man sighs, lips a thin line. She storms toward him, and if he hadn't seem this move before he'd be intimidated. Her red gown follows behind her, a trail of angry blood red that halts just before the man. "Yes ma'am. Someone helped them escape the prison – some girl. It happened moments before we reached Hudson and Puckerman's cell, there was nothing we could have done about it." He tries to contain the annoyance that their plan had been foiled by some nobody, but if anything it's made him more determined.

She inches in closer, sniffing him, "You smell like failure, and I don't like losing." Sue scrutinizes his face, which he tries to keep as emotionless as possible. "Where are they now with this . . . this _girl_?"

"We have a tracker on their ship, ma'am. They won't get away from us again." He pauses, then asks, "do we have permission to fire on sight?"

"No," Sue says in an instant, much to his surprise. "I no longer want them terminated. I am sure they have sent someone to claim their little president back, and with Hudson is the son of a senator, he may be valuable."

"And the others?"

Her lips are a wicked sneer, "I'm sure they will be entertaining for my girls to have some fun with. Bring them _all_ here."

"As you wish. Is there anything else?"

"Yes," she returns to her seat, lowering herself slowly. "Take Santana with you."

He inwardly groans. "But –"

"You are clearly incapable of carrying out this job, St James. Besides," she pauses, face turned up with disgust, "I don't trust a man with curly hair – I can't help but picturing small birds laying sulphurous eggs in there, and I find it _disgusting_." Sue turns away in disinterest, "Santana will help you, and I will have what I want."

* * *

"Why the _hell_ is there a compressor on the engine?" Puck storms into the control room, face red and a vein on his head about five seconds from exploding. "Stupid fucking amateur."

He stares to Finn, waiting for a response and halting in confusion when one does not come straight away. Instead, he finds Finn and Rachel laughing along to some joke he'd made, Puck's eyes widening in shock when he realizes that she's in _his_ seat. They break from their laughter, glistening eyes turning away from each other yet both wearing large smiles. It makes Puck _sick_.

"They've put a what on the what?" Finn asks, a smile still on his big, dumb face.

He steps forward, leaning against the wall, "a compressor on the engine. But don't worry, while you've been sat around on your butts, _I've_ actually been doing something useful and fixing the mess that Karofsky made on this ship."

Finn sends him a pretty powerful glare that he chooses to ignore.

"Now," he begins, turning to address Rachel, "if you just choose a suitable planet to be dropped off on, Finn and I will continue our journey to Chokko city."

They both splutter at his words. " **What**?" _Oh great, they talk in unison now._

"Where. Do. You. Want. To. Go?" He punches each word to her, speaking slowly as though to a child. Hell, she may as well be one – she's only about three feet tall.

She turns to Finn in confusion, who in turn stares back at Puck. "Dude, we're not just dropping her off in some random city."

He groans and gives a rather liberal eye roll. "We'll give her some money. I'm not completely heartless."

"What? No! _Besides,_ " Finn continues, "we're not going to Chokko City."

Puck suddenly stands erect, eyes widened in disbelief. "We're what now?"

"We're going home."

He surges forward, gaze boring into his friend. "What do you mean we're going home?"

Finn spins in his chair, guilt spread across his face, "dude, we've gotta go. We were just prisoners, is that not enough for you? We really messed up this time."

"It's not like it was our fault," Puck insists, "some lunatic started shooting at us!"

"Yeah, and you don't think they're still out there? What if it happens again? What if next time there is no one there to save us?" His expression is torn, etched with worry, "all I kept thinking about was my mom and how disappointed she'd be in me if anything worse happened." He stares at him now, face all full of emotion in a way that makes Puck feel the unfamiliar pang of guilt.

A sigh follows. "Alright, _fine_. Home it is." His eyes then move to Rachel, and he's sure he already knows the answer to his question. "And her?"

"She has a name, you know," she chimes in.

"Rach is coming with us."

"Whatever," Puck mumbles, attempting to hide his disappointment. So much for him and his best friend going on another intergalactic adventure. "I'm going for a nap, don't wake me up or I swear to god I will make your life a living hell." Just as the door lifts, he's forced to pause in his steps when the entire ship jumps to a halt.

All three are thrown forward in the jerk, clinging to whatever their hands can find. For him, it's the turbo rider that he almost pulls out sheer force.

. . . _He'll fix that later._

"What was that?" Rachel asks, worry laden deep in her voice, "you don't think those guards are still after us, do you?" She stands, peering out into the world before them and only seeing distant stars.

Puck rushes forward too, metal creaking under his weight.

He can't see _anything_.

He turns, looking to Finn for the next move. "It's the fuel cells," he curses under his breath, even more so when the screen continues to beep an angry shade of red, "I'm guessing those guys chasing us on New Oh – io5 did it when we took off. We barely have enough to get us through a few more parsecs – we're gonna have to land somewhere."

"Land?" Rachel exclaims.

Finn sighs, "We need to repair the falcon." He slams his fist against the wall out of frustration, and Puck watches the girl flinch. He, on the other hand is used to Finn's small outbursts, and doesn't even bat an eyelid. " _Dammit_." Finn's frown deepens, "I don't even know what the nearest planet is! It could be ten lightyears away for all I know!"

"Well, you're the one piloting!" Puck chimes in.

"I was trying to get us away from the people shooting at us, I wasn't thinking about anything else."

"You clearly weren't _thinking_ at all."

He recoils then, offended. And yeah, Puck kind of regrets saying that one. The man huffs, opening his mouth to speak when he notices Rachel at the controls and frantically tapping away. "What are you doing?"

Her face is nothing short of determined, eyes staring hard at her task before her. "I can take you to the nearest planet."

"Great," he announces, "now we've got the rookie flying us to safety." He throws his hands up in the air, pacing back and forth on the grated floor.

"Rach, are you sure this is a good idea?" Finn asks, scratching the back of his head uncertainty, "I mean, you've never even flown off your planet before today . . . how are you gonna know where to take us?"

Despite their doubt, she continues on in her work. "Look, I've been prisoner to Karofsky for five years, and in that time my job was to search through crashed ships and other alien technology. I can speak over eight different languages, I can put together any droid of any make and, most importantly of all, I can pilot a ship, okay?"

Puck rolls his eyes; of course they end up with little miss showboat as their fellow passenger. It's like having _Kurt_ travel with them. He fills with annoyance at the way Finn looks to her in awe, bustling right in the middle of the pair. "Alright then, where are you going?" He takes great pleasure in the fact that Finn has to crane his neck around him to see Rachel.

"I know someone," she states, "a dealer of sorts." Rachel turns to look at him, "she can get you guys what you need, for a small price."

He raises his brow, eyes widening. "A small price?"

Rachel pauses then, words hesitating on her lips. But there's something in her eyes – almost amusement – as she finally speaks. "Yes, she actually . . . she works for dates."

" _Dates_?" Finn chokes out.

"Come on, it's not much to pay for valuable parts for your ship. Besides, it's not like she is some sort of weirdo, it's just a bit of company." Rachel waves away their concerns, shimmying Puck out of the way so that she can enter some co – ordinates into the ship.

He grabs hold of her hand, "and who are you going to be bartering away for this little date?"

"I'll let you boys decide between you," she replies primly.

His head whips toward his friend, who is blushing as red as a rathtar. "Is she serious?" He points behind him toward Rachel, who slaps his hand down with a disgruntled _pfft._

Finns mouth hangs open, probably catching damn flies in there. He slaps his forehead, "are you _listening_? Your new little friend, who I still don't trust, is taking us to some random planet where she is prostituting us off to some woman."

"I'm not prostituting you. I _told_ you – Brittany just wants some company. Besides, she has a girlfriend that she's pretty serious with."

The frown on his face flips in an instant. "Say that again?"

Rachel stares back, confused. "She has a girlfriend?" She shakes her head in bewilderment, "why are you smiling?" It doesn't take long for it to click, before her face twists with disgust. "You are so _fickle_!"

He gives Finn a sneaky side – eye, "what does that mean?"

"No idea, dude."

* * *

"Update, captain?" Burt steps inside the control room, holding himself with pride as he moves forward. His eyes are trained ahead, mouth a stiff, thin line.

"No sign of her, Sir."

He stops, thoughtful. Burt's face pulls with frustration as he tries to figure out Sue's next move. "She will not be hiding – it is not in her nature to _hide_." He glances down at the scanner, which shows little sign of ships in the outer rim. "If Sue is here, we will know about it."

"And what exactly are we looking for?" his lieutenant asks, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.

"Trust me," he pats his shoulder, possibly a little harder than needed, "when we see her ship, you will know. She will try and shoot us down faster than you can blink. That woman can smell a Presidency ship out like a bloodhound." Burt can now sense the fear from his young pilot, "don't worry, son. This is all party of our duty in serving the Madame President. Now get some speed on this thing, I want to get home to my son before the end of this year."

"Yes Sir, of course."

Burt smiles, then continues to glare out. _I will find you_ , he thinks.

* * *

Finn stares at the odd little house they're in, unable to resist touching the numerous trinkets that litter every inch of the inside. While he is used to conventional craftsmanship and the finest materials, this stuff is kind of shabby, yet still pretty cool. He tiptoes as quietly as he can up the rickety steps, hands stroking over the spines of some dusty books.

"Where is this girl?" he hears Puck asking Rachel impatiently, that annoyance lining his voice. Finn frowns, wondering why his friend seems to be in such a bad mood recently, though shakes that thought away. His eyes naturally find themselves moving back to Rachel again.

She's crouched near a bunch of old ship parts, neatly searching through. Her dark hair in tied back now it's a long braid which sweeps over her shoulder, so she can concentrate he imagines.

He continues his search, jumping when one of the ornaments suddenly starts moving, its tail whipping back and forth angrily. When it hisses, he jumps back and stumbles into a shelf of items.

"Finn!" Rachel calls out in worry.

Puck, on the other hand, seems less concerned. "For god sake," he mumbles, "can I take you anywhere?"

He brushes himself off, staring at the large creature in annoyance. "What the hell is that thing?" It hisses back him, sharp teeth showing.

Before anyone gets a chance to reply, a small blonde steps into the room and sweeps the chubby monster up. "What's wrong, Lord Tubbington?" She coos into its fur, kissing its head. Finn only stares back in confusion, taking another step away and back toward his friends.

He leans into Rachel, "is this her?"

"Brittany!" she speaks, as if to answer, her voice chipper, "it's nice to see you again." She moves closer, than awkwardly stands still as she clearly debates whether to go in for a hug or not. In the end, she holds back.

The girl smiles, almost eerily. Her eyes are a light blue and soft, yet Finn feels like they look straight through him. He watches with curiosity as the feline creatures jumps from her arms and waddles to a spot in the corner. "Lord Tubbington says that you want something from me." Brittany talks.

"Yes," Rachel smiles, "we were actually wondering if you had any fuel cells for a Corellian YT – 1300f light freighter."

Instead of answering the question, she has one of her own. "I thought that you were working for Karofsky?" she tilts her head confused.

"Working for?" Puck interjects.

"Prisoner," Rachel corrects, then turns back to her friend, "long story short, we escaped. And now we just need to fix our ship." She suddenly looks unsure, "you do have the parts, right?"

Brittany only shrugs, and Finn feels his heart sink. "It's so hard to keep track of parts," she says softly, before her eyes move over to the animal staring back at them with a soft purr, "Lord Tubbington keeps hiding everything from me."

Finn looks over to Puck as if to say "what the hell?"

The odd statement doesn't seem to faze Rachel, though her smile does become noticeably tighter, "Well, does he know where any are?"

"That depends."

"On?"

Brittany peers over to the two men hiding at the back of the shop and watching with curiosity. "Payment." She smiles, eyes glistening.

"Oh," Rachel grins. "Well, never fear because Noah will be more than happy to provide anything you need." She spins, looking awfully scary for someone her size, "right, Noah?"

He looks Brittany up and down, smirking, "anything for you, baby."

The blonde smiles, "Just so you know, kissing my armpits is a big turn on for me." Finn only blinks in confusion.

"Freaky," Puck grins, "I like it."

Finn rolls his eyes. _This plan better work._

* * *

"I'm actually surprised that Sue let you on this mission," Santana admits, "I mean, I know you've got this whole son of darkness thing going on but you've already lost them once."

"Will you stop bringing that up?"

She smirks, "is the little baby going to cry?"

Jesse sends her some serious side eye as the ship hits the ground with a loud _thud_. "You know I hate it when you do that," he says, annoyance rising with him.

"Oh please." Santana stands now, her face losing the humor. "So, what's the plan St James? Assuming you still know how to make successful plans."

"Well, I have learned how to avoid failures from watching you work." He argues back, carrying out a scan on the computer. "Their ship isn't far from here. I suggest we keep it stealthy, find the targets before causing a scene. Their freighter is damaged but they can still escape again and I don't really want to follow them through the galaxy." He leans in closer. "Just need to calculate their exact location – hey, are you even listening to me?"

"No need," she smiles, staring at her communicator, "I got a gal on the inside and she's led us straight to them." Her eyes are taunting as she says, "I win."

He grumbles, grabbing his cloak, "not yet, we need to catch them first. They're smarter than you think."

"I can take any of them down, just you watch."

"Time to prove it," he states, reaching for his lightsaber.

* * *

"Do you think Puck will be okay?" Finn asks as they saunter through the crowded markets, hovering by her side with BB – 8 in tow.

She tears her eyes away from the bizarre trinket in her hand to the man who stares back, worrying his lower lip. "Noah? He seems like he can handle himself – I mean, I know Brittany can seem . . . _odd_."

"You can say that again." He gives a lopsided smile that makes her stomach catch. Rachel smiles back, so wide that she thinks her face might split in two, and then turns her attention back to the stands before her. The stall worker tries haggling with them once more, but she politely refuses and lowers the moon shaped item back to the worn table.

"C'mon." She gently takes hold of his arm and leads him away, which is hard with the hustle and bustle of the markets. Rachel tries not to be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of change, but if there's one thing she's always described herself as, it's _determined_. Besides, it's not so scary with Finn's large figure standing watch beside her.

Finn peers behind them toward his droid, "stay close, bud. I don't wanna lose you in this place." BB – 8 practically chirps back, moving at their heels.

They step further into the open, basking in the heat of the sun. The hard path slowly disappears between their feet, making way for a short red grass that spreads out before them. She stares, intrigued and amazed at the new scenery. The market town is home to many, with small houses scattered along a riverbed.

She turns, thoughtful, "what's it like where you live, Finn?"

He stops then, the smile slipping from his lips. "It's okay," he shrugs.

"But aren't you from the Crusader system?" She moves to stand in front of him, hands halting the man. "You are from the epicentre of the galaxy. Everyone wants to go there, to make a life there and it's just . . . _okay_?" Rachel can hardly believe that all the tales she's been told might be false, though part of hew still holds onto the dream that she could still find her new start.

"I know it seems cool to be from there, but it's no perfect place, I guess. I mean, we have the Madame President and the senate – like, we're the example for the rest of the galaxy but . . . but – bad things still happen there."

She tilts her head, confused, "like what?"

"Like," he struggles for a few moments, "crime, and – you know, everyone thinks that they're better than the rest of the galaxy. You know that I'm not even _supposed_ to be in the outerim, right?"

Rachel pulls back, shock flooding her face. "You're _not_?"

"No, we're not."

"So why did you come here?"

"This was – I dunno. I just . . . don't like being at home I suppose." His face is anguished, hiding back further words.

But Rachel is a prober if there ever was one. "Why don't you like it?"

"I just don't."

"There's got to be a reason." She tests, pursing her lips together. He grimaces, clearly pained with his own thoughts. Rachel ignores that feeling that perhaps some things are best left unsaid, which is not an uncommon practise for her. "Finn."

Hands hiding in his pockets, he comes to a halt with his eyes fully trained on her. "You ever get the feeling that you're not good enough?"

Although there is trepidation, she gives an eventual nod.

"Well that's how I feel at home. Like, _all the time_." She feels her heart reach out for him, wanting nothing more than to comfort the clearly bothered man. Without even realizing, her hand is touching his arm, softly but surely. He manages the smallest of smiles, but she'll take that. Her small action encourages him further, "I know I shouldn't feel like that. But, when your brother is one of the "chosen ones" what else am I supposed to feel?"

She halts, too. Rachel stares up at Finn in wonder and confusion. "The chosen ones?" she asks.

It's his turn to be confused. "You don't know?" She shakes her head softly, prompting him to explain. "So there's this book? You know who the jedi were, right?" Rachel gives a small nod; _everyone_ knows those stories. "It says that there will be four who come together to use the force for good and restart the work that the jedi once did."

"There are people that can _use_ the force?" Her words are baffled. "But how? No one has been able to do that for hundreds of years?" It seems such a bizarre thought to her, having only heard old tales of the jedi and the force.

He shrugs, "I don't know how. There are people studying everything we know about it to those who can use it."

Rachel watches him slowly, then dares to ask, "And one of those people is your brother?"

There's a long pause before she gets a dejected, "yeah."

Her eyes are trained on him as she tries to figure out the words to say, the right ones. It's been so long since she's had to comfort anyone, and though she may be somewhat rusty, Finn definitely seems to bring something softer out in her. She squeezes him arm, "You know, what your brother can or can't do doesn't make you any less special."

"You sound like my mom," he gives a humourless laugh.

"Well," Rachel starts, dark eyes glistening, "she must be a very wise woman."

Finn grins then, a glimpse of happiness returning to his face. "Yeah, she is." The fondness is his voice warms her heart, yet she tries to ignore the pang of jealousy she feels. Finn doesn't seem to notice, thankfully, and stares toward some more market stalls further down the river. "Shall we?" he gestures with his hand.

Her smile is suddenly brighter than the two suns blazing down on them.

* * *

Blaine slips into Kurt's room quietly, a smile slipping onto his lips as he realizes that he's facing the window, and he giddily moves to try and surprise him. "I know you're there," he says, voice quiet.

"Aww, I wanted to sneak up on you." He tries to be disappointed though struggles. It's hard to be anything but happy when Kurt is beside him. The smile begins to drop when he notices the way Kurt is wistfully staring up at the sky. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He's quick to say, then pauses, as though he knows Blaine will drag it all out of him eventually. " _Everything_."

The dark haired man frowns, moving to sit next to Kurt. His hand slips over Kurt's softer, paler one and squeezes, "what do you mean?"

"My dad still isn't back, neither is Finn."

He thinks for a moment, then quietly speaks. "I'm sure they're fine." Kurt doesn't speak, "is this where you use some jedi trick and see where they are in your head?" He gives a short laugh, nudging Kurt's side playfully.

"I'm not a jedi," he says, a soft shake of his head, "sometimes I –" Kurt cuts himself short. This causes Blaine to frown – it's a rare occurrence that he hears so much doubt in Kurt's voice, and it worries him.

"What?"

Kurt stares back at him, eyes lost in his thoughts. Despite his concern, Blaine can't help but notice how beautiful Kurt looks with the light shining over his porcelain skin, small worry lines drawn into his forehead. His mouth is a hard line, but thin lips soft and almost quivering with worry. Blaine closes the space between them, "you know you can tell me anything, right?"

The man nods, "I know that." His words are loving now. "I worry, Blaine, that we won't be strong enough. We don't know enough."

"You're still learning," he admits, "but it's not like we're in the middle of a war." There hasn't been a war for hundreds of years.

"That's just it though," he counters, "there is something – I can _feel_ it. The universe isn't like it was a few years ago. Some of it is shrouded in darkness, darkness that's only getting bigger."

Blaine's thick brows knot into one, "what do you mean?"

"I'm not certain, I just feel like there is no balance any more. It scares me – especially not that my dad is involved in all of this. What if something happens to him?"

"Your dad? I'd be more scared for whoever he is fighting," Blaine laughs, which brings the smallest of smiles to Kurt's lips.

"But that's another thing," he starts, standing in frustration now and taking to a slow walk around his room. "He won't even tell me where he's gone. How are we supposed to train if we don't know what we're going to be up against?" Blaine can only watch helpless as Kurt exasperates his already worried thoughts. "Quinn agrees with me." He turns, eyes returning to Blaine who cranes his neck to stare up at the thin man. "It's like – ugh it's like they don't think we're ready yet, either. I mean, they haven't even found the forth force wielder, you know?"

"It'll take time," he assures him, standing to meet Kurt in the middle of the room. His hands find Kurt's shoulders, softly massaging the stress out of them, "like Will always says, it is the will of the force, right? Things will work out."

He hesitates, a soft sigh following moments later. "The will of the force." Kurt nods, "you're right, _as always._ "

"The joy of being Blaine Anderson," he grins. That receives an eye roll but Blaine doesn't mind, as long as Kurt is smiling that is all that matters.

* * *

"So, how do you know Brittany if you've never left your planet?"

Rachel frowns then, the words unwillingly falling from her lips. "She – um, worked for Karofsky."

" _What_?"

"I said _worked_." Rachel brushes off his concern. "It's not like she still does. Last I heard is that she got her girlfriend and sort of made a lifestyle change, you know? Stopped dealing with crooks and criminals."

He frowns, walking with deep thought. "I dunno, she still seemed pretty strange to me."

A laugh escapes her lips, "that's just Brittany." She sighs, "but when she worked for Karofsky, we sort of made friends and I helped her a lot with parts. She offered to return the favor if I ever needed it."

"So you're using your favor to fix a ship that's not even yours – why? You're free to do whatever you want and you chose to help us?" He stares down in a baffled amazement, one that lifts her heart high.

She can't keep the smile off her face, "because I wanted to help you two. If it weren't for you guys I would still be stuck there." She pauses then, almost hesitant, "Plus, you're probably one of the only people who's ever been nice to me . . . so that's kind of special, right?"

Finn smiles back at her, his eyes sparkling and adorable dimples appearing in his cheeks. Her attention is only pulled away when BB – 8 rolls into the back of her legs, beeping in annoyance at her. "Yes, you've helped too." She insists, "You're a good friend too, BB – 8."

She watches Finn's eyes wander over to a market full of steaming food, his mouth hanging wide open. Rachel laughs, giving him a gentle push. "Go eat," she says, "I'll be there in a second, I just wanna finish looking here."

He doesn't need to be told twice, the intoxicating smell of food leading him toward the small. Rachel sighs softly, only to realize that she's watching him walk away with dopey smile on her face. She stands erect, shaking her head. Now is not the time to get feelings, especially when they met in a life or death situation – that never works out!

But Finn doesn't hold her attention for long. Just as he was enticed away by the food, she finds herself enticed by another item. Something pulls her in another direction, the sound of the people surrounding her muffled out until she can only hear one. It sounds like . . . like _marching_. It is a crystal clear sound, as though it is right beside her.

The only thing around her is the markets.

Curiosity compelling her forward, she follows the noise, moving further and further away from the safety of Finn. The marching doesn't stop – if anything it grows louder, until it is chaotically echoing around her head. She feels her breath even out, slow and steady, despite the turmoil she feels inside.

Why can she hear this?

Then she sees it. It's unrecognisable, unfamiliar, yet she knows exactly what she is headed for.

The object sits a few feet away on one of the stalls, lay beside a number of junk items that she easily ignores. To Rachel, it looks like junk itself, but despite her thoughts she is advancing on it. The cylindrical object is damaged, clearly, covered in dirt and dust. The metal is dented and worn, as though the owner had good use out of it. Rachel observes it with trepidation, having never seen anything like it before.

The noise suddenly stops as she halts before the object, staring as though in a trance.

But instead of hearing the background noise of the markets, she hears _nothing_. Almost as though she is deep underwater and hidden from the rest of the world. Her eyes are wide as saucers as she's pulled toward it, feeling as though it's calling out for her.

She takes a deep breath . . .

. . . And picks it up.

In an instant, she is transformed to another place. Her eyes take a moment to focus, Rachel letting out a scream as they do. Yet no sound escapes her lips. She can only stare in horror at the army of white suited guards – the same ones that had been chasing them only yesterday. There are hundreds of them, matching in unison to the commands of one woman.

Rachel cannot see her face, but she can hear her terrible words. "Kill them all!" she shouts, "destroy them, and show no mercy."

She blinks as she's taken somewhere else, watching the same army attacking a group of villagers. Rachel can only stand frozen as innocent people are slaughtered in their homes. "Stop it," she calls out, trying her best to move, yet it's as though she isn't real. Her words don't even carry over the noise of death and destruction.

The next jump makes her feel physically sick, the girl wondering what else could possibly be thrown at her. Her heart sinks as she sees the next person. "Finn," she whispers, the blood draining from her face. He can't hear her. With a pained expression, she watches him run through some space ship, his breathing heavy and limping on his right foot. He runs right past her, almost _through_ her, when she notices what he is running from. A cloaked figure, dark as the night sky, with a weapon she's never seen before. He spins it as he stomps after Finn, the glowing red weapon slicing through the metal walls with a flurry of sparks. "Finn!" she calls once more, her voice desperate now.

Finn fades away too, as does the cloaked figure.

She now sees a chamber of people sat a table, each as stern as the rest. "But what if she is dangerous?"

"We cannot trust the girl," another says.

 _Who are they talking about?_

A heavier set man speaks now, words heavy. "The fact is she has already hurt someone. Who's to say that she won't do it again?"

Rachel confusion spirals out of control as yet another world fades away from her . . . and then, as if nothing had happened, she's back where she was. The noise of the hundreds of people is suddenly overwhelming as she tries to piece together what has just happened. She throws the object from her hands as though it will set her skin on fire.

The girl jumps as she's shoved out of the way by a browsing customer, an angry togruta not pleased as she blocks the merchandise. Rachel couldn't care less about the stupid things before her, especially the one that just did . . . _that_ to her. When he begins shouting in alien tongue, she does the only thing she can think of, and she runs.

As fast as her small legs can carry her, she needs to get out of this place. She needs to just – to be alone, if only to get a hold of her thoughts.

What has she just seen? And why did it feel so _real_? She is overcome with emotion, tears brimming in her eyes, and for a moment she thinks back to the most piercing vision – the one of Finn. She desperately wants to know what had happened to him, yet at the same time fears the truth.

* * *

On the other side of Jaingu, Puck sits inside Brittany's home, spread over the soft cushions of two chairs as she sits across from him, Lord Tubbington keeping a trained eye on the man. He ignores it. He's not scared of that fat lump.

"You know, Rachel never told me how beautiful you were," he flashes her his famous smile, hoping to dazzle to girl.

To his surprise, she doesn't fawn over him as he's used to. "Rachel likes talking about herself," she says simply.

"You can say that again," he mutters under his breath, then realizes something. He can totally get the dirt on Rachel! Then, with just the right amount of incriminating evidence, he can send her packing to the nearest solar system and continue with Finn on their broventures. _I am a genius_. "So," he begins, inching closer, "you seem to know Rachel well – what's she like?"

"Rachel who?" she blinks, looking lost all of a sudden.

He tilts his head in confusion. "The girl who brought us here?"

"Oh – yeah, why didn't you say?" She giggles, "she's funny. Always so serious about things. But I suppose being a prisoner isn't fun, not that I would know."

Puck's frown deepens, "so she was just a prisoner?"

"Hmm, I don't quite know what she did, but I'm pretty sure she almost got someone killed. Plus she tried to steal a ship from him . . . I don't know why she didn't just have sex with him if she wanted a ship . . . that's like, the best way to get what you want." He shifts uncomfortably then, but allows her to continue, "Before that – I don't know, she just lived there."

"She almost got someone killed?"

Brittany only shrugs away his concern.

"What about her family? Any friends?"

She laughs again, as though they've got some inside joke. " _Berry_? She doesn't have anyone." Brittany leans closer, "I'm pretty sure she doesn't even have parents – probably just appeared like a plant one day." She stops, a revelation on her face, "hey, maybe that's why her last name is Berry?"

Puck has no idea what to say to that, so he just _nods_. "Probably."

"Either way, Rachel has always just been . . . there." She takes a sip of her drink and reclines into her chair further, a troubling frown suddenly appearing. "I don't know why Sue is after her."

He freezes, blood turning to ice. "W – What did you just say?"

"That Sue has sent someone to capture Rachel? Yeah. I don't get it. Her clothes make me sad."

Her words are just a blur at this point as panic begins to set in. "Why are they after her?"

Brittany chuckles, a hand reaching out to stroke Lord Tubbington. "Oh, not just Rachel. You and Finn, too. Santana told me when I said you were visiting me . . . why are you getting up?" She stands, too. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Where are they now? The people after us?"

"I don't know – I'm not psychic like Lord Tubbington."

But he's ignoring her as he grabs their things and bursts out of the door, ignoring Brittany's shouts of confusion. To hell with the fuel cells, he needs to save his friends before it's too late.

* * *

Jesse's eyes are honed in like a hunting tooka. He slips through the market stalls, invisible to his target. He'd fought off Santana's orders to just attack – this requires the art of subtlety and he's sad to say that she certainly lacks that trait. _Patience_ , he thinks as he notices the girl moving to a more secluded spot, her face white and troubled.

No wonder.

He'd seen her take the lightsaber from the stall, and now he's more intrigued than ever. She's not be who sue wants, but Shelby will certainly be interested in the girl.

The man peers around, looking for sight of the tall idiot and his droid before moving to follow her. Santana can take care of Finn Hudson herself.

It's cold as the suns' heat fades away, the congregation of huts filled with music and laughter. He feels out of place here, nevertheless pushes through the crowds. He scowls as a patron barges into him, the man's putrid face twisting in annoyance. "Watch where you're going, human scum!"

"You will leave this establishment and go back to the pitiful hole you call a home." He concentrates, a hand slowly raised in the air as he makes direct eye contact.

On cue, he stands erects, voice empty as he says, "I will leave this establishment and go back to the pitiful hole I call a home." He watches with satisfaction as he robotically walks away without another word and then returns to the task at hand. Weaving through the people, he comes to a quieter hallway, spying a small figure hunched at the bottom of some stairs.

He approaches, exuding confidence.

She peers up before he's close enough, and Jesse curses as he loses the element of surprise. "Hello?" she asks, trying to hide the fear in her voice. But that's not enough. He can _feel_ it too. "What are you doing?" she demands to know, on her feet in an instant with her eyes scanning out the nearest exits which, unfortunately for her, are only behind him. Not that she'd be in with a chance, either way.

"Don't be frightened." His deep voice echoes around the hollow room and the thick cloak hiding him does little to put her at ease. "I just want to talk." She clearly doesn't trust him, for the next minute she makes to run when he reaches out a hand and stops her in her tracks.

"Who are you?" she asks. He ignores her. The work of the force is invisible, and she looks utterly confused as to why she suddenly can't move, straining to be free of his hold. "What do you want from me?" She tries again, voice strained under his hold.

"I saw you," he states, moving closer. "And I saw what happened . . ."

He inches forward, so closer that he can see the terror in her eyes. It's a strange thing, he knows, when people first see what the force can do, and she is no different. Yet under the fear there is a lingering defiance. She's still fighting his grasp, despite his strength. Jesse smiles, impressed. He reaches into his belt, pulling out the lightsaber that had caused her so much trouble, the same one that he'd snatched from the table after she'd fled.

". . . With this."

She shakes her head, eyes bulging in fear. "Don't bring that thing near me."

He moves it from hand to hand, with her eyes trained on it. "What did you see?" he asks curiously.

"I didn't see anything," she spits out.

Jesse's boots sound against the hard floor, the space between each step achingly long. He gives out a short laugh, a smirk dancing on his lips. "You don't need to tell me," he states, "at least, not with words."

And with that, his lifts his hand once more, eyes closing. He focuses all his energy into the girl before him, and moments later he can _see_. Her memories lie out before him like a book to read – her thoughts, her fears. His smile widens, a wicked affair. "I can see everything you've seen," he taunts her, eyes widening to see her practically shaking, sweat beading on her forehead as he continues to probe. "You feel so lost, so hopeless. A prisoner girl." He's surprised when he feels resistance from her, for a moment losing the connection before he pushes through, "and the two pilots, I see them too. They won't help you – they _can't_ help. They fight for a side that will not win, Rachel."

She gasps as he says her name, then clenches her teeth tightly together. " _Stop it_."

"Not until I have what I want," he insists, delving further. "It's here somewhere. Wait, I see something . . . one of them, you know him from somewhere else." He frowns, "but how can that be? _Oh_ – how sweet. He's the boy you've dreamt about since you were a little girl."

"I said _stop_."

"I'm so near," Jesse smiles, "I can feel all that fear inside of you, all that anger. You're right, no one cares about you – don't kid yourself to think that these two . . . _boys_ could. You're just a nobody from a nothing planet."

Her teeth are clenched now, hands twisting into tights fits. " _ **STOP**_."

Rachel's eyes connect with his, hard and unforgiving, and Jesse feels that resistance again. Something is . . . pushing him out. He tries to regroup, to dominate the girl, hand shaking with force as he holds it directly next to her head. Jesse can hear laboured breathing, only to realize that it belongs to _him_.

And then his stronghold is gone. Her mind is closed in an instant and Jesse thrown out with a strong shove. In his shock, he loses all control of her and she drops to the floor when the force lets her go. The lightsaber falls from his limp hand with a loud thud, rolling away from him.

He glances to Rachel who, though disoriented, stares right back. They both scramble for the lightsaber, but she just about beats him to the chase and pulls it from his reach. "I saw . . . your thoughts," she whispers out, breathless. "I – I saw how scared you are . . . and you _should_ be." In an intuitive move, she activates the lightsaber and holds it in front of herself for protection; Rachel looks even more shocked at her actions than he does.

As if perfectly timed, Santana's sounds over his communicator, "Hudson is taken care of, _where are you_?"

Never leaving his eyes from the girl, he slowly lifts his wrist to his mouth. "A little busy at the minute."

"What have you done with Finn?" Rachel's eyes narrow, fingers clenching around the lightsaber that little bit tighter.

* * *

 **So, a lot is happening. I hope that you're keeping up! Please review :)**


	3. Rescue mission

**Thank you again for all the feedback, it really means a lot to me to get it! I'm going to try my best to keep up weekly updates - I have a lot of inspiration so it isn't too bad at the minute!**

 **Please enjoy**

* * *

Chapter 3

Rescue mission

* * *

Finn grunts as he is shoved to the ground by more men than he can count, the weight forcing him lower and lower. He tries to fight, yet it isn't exactly fair. In the end, he merely lifts his head and stares into the eyes of his capture.

She smirks back, dark eyes glistening as she stares at him. The woman has dark, sleek skin, her hair tied back into a sharp pony tail, and body hidden beneath fitted armor. "Hello, Finn." She says, enjoying as his hands are roughly tired together and the man then dragged to his feet.

"Who are you?" he growls, "and what do you want with me?"

"I have a friend who is dying to meet you," she grins, making a gesture to her guard. In an instant, he feels a blaster digging into his side. "After you," she announces with a laugh, pointing forward, "thanks for making it so easy, Finn. I thought being the son of a Senator, it would have been a bit harder to capture you."

He feels his face flush as the others laugh, suddenly feeling very stupid indeed. Admittedly, his defences had been down – he hadn't know that threats lay in this planet too, and being with Rachel had certainly put him at ease . . .

 _Rachel_.

He cranes his neck, looking around for her, but once more there is no sight. It'd been barely moments ago that she'd wandered off to look at the stall, yet Finn did not anticipate this. The man inwardly curses, head spinning a mile a minute as he attempts to figure out exactly why he is now held captive once more. Turning, he sees the trail left behind by BB – 8, the droid he'd sent away the minute he'd smelled trouble.

If only Finn had been fast enough himself.

"Let me go!" he shouts out to the girl, fighting against his restraints, despite its futility.

She scoffs, "please, wear yourself out. As long as you're alive, I've done my job."

His face scrunches up in confusion, mouth hanging open. Overwhelmed with feelings, he isn't quite sure what to focus on right now, but inside there is a big looming cloud, almost as if being shrouded by an approaching storm. Finn doesn't quite understand what that means – he just knows that he doesn't like it.

* * *

Puck runs and runs, and then he runs some more.

His chest aches, each breath a painful affair, until he has to stop, winded. His feet scratch the dusty ground, the man reaching out a hand to lean on the nearest object, which just happens to be a person hat moves away from the panting man. He stumbles slightly, though straightens up in an instant. "Where are they?" he whispers to himself.

He closes his eyes in concentration, trying to think like Finn and Rachel. "Probably took her someone nice," he pulls his face, not quite sure how he feels about Finn's relationship with the girl. If anything, it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. There are houses all around him, followed by two paths. One leads to a rather rowdy bunch of drinkers, the other to a large street market. Then he smells the mouth-watering aroma of food, and takes off in that direction. He knows his best friend well enough that Finn is easily tempted with food, no matter what the kind.

Despite his body's protests, he sets his legs into motion again. He heats up instantly, the humid air difficult to breathe as he runs, but he doesn't stop. Finn is in trouble, Rachel too. He just hopes he isn't too late.

Hearing a familiar sound, he slams down his foot and skids to a halt, twisting around to see BB – 8 rolling away with impressive speed. "Hey!" he shouts, waving his arms about and trying to catch his attention, only to realize that he's being chased.

BB – 8's head turns toward him, the droid suddenly heading in his direction. "That's right," he mumbles with an eye roll, "bring them this way." Panic surging through him, he grabs the nearest weapon toward him, which just happens to be the biggest, mankiest book he can find, and hides behind a large set of furniture.

As the droid rolls past him and moves to hide behind the man, he readies himself, swinging the book with great force until it hits BB – 8's pursuer square in the head. The next man dodges his swing, throwing a punch at Puck. It winds him in an instant, forcing him to the ground where he is too exposed. He frowns, bracing himself for whatever is about to come next. . .

Until BB – 8 bravely rolls forward, electricity shooting from his arm and headed straight for their attacker. Surprised, he jumps back, but this gives Puck just enough time to grab the other's blaster and shoot, the pair watches as the plasma knocks him feet away. He shoots again, just to be sure, and there runs for it.

"Where are Finn and Rachel?" he asks BB – 8 as they flee together.

He chirps back erratically.

Puck frowns, "they're not together? Crap, that's not good. How could they be so _stupid_?" He shakes his head, trying to think, "Alright, alright – take me to Finn first. We're gonna . . . we'll help him." He stares straight ahead, fear once again overwhelming him, "we can do this."

* * *

Rachel has never felt like this before

A concoction of terror, exhilaration and complete confusion overwhelm the young girl as she stares ahead at her attacker.

Fear stares back at her. Shock, too. He hadn't expected the tables to turn so quickly, she knows that. Rachel hadn't either. Moments ago she feared for her life, and now she feels like this is the start of it, like this is the first breath she's ever taken – albeit kind of shaky and filled with trepidation. She feels more alive than ever.

Her eyes move to the object in her hand, the lightsaber. It's like the one she'd seen in her vision, that one that had so easily sliced through metal and left damage in its path. Rachel has no doubt that this could do serious damage; no wonder Jesse stares with barely contained worry. She takes a moment to observe the man, who had only moments ago infiltrated her mind, stealing her of her privacy. Then something had shifted, a beast awoke inside of her and fought back.

With its strength, she had seen into _his_ mind, into his thoughts and through the eyes of this monster. How? She has no idea, but she knows that she wants – no, _needs_ to know more. But still, her question lingers in the air. _What have you done with Finn?_

He clenches his jaw, eyes narrowing. "Finn," he says, almost as though the name is poison on his lips, "is not the reason I am here. He is Santana's problem."

She frowns, wondering who this woman is on top of all her other questions. Rachel's head begins to ache with the effort, shaking slowly from side to side.

" _Who_ are you?" she asks again, hoping to make some sense of this mess.

"You already know my name," he states, emotionless.

"What did you do to me?" Rachel demands to know, wielding the weapon dangerously closer, "and how did you . . . do that?" In her mind, she hears a quiet, _how did I do that?_

He doesn't speak then, lips creating a tight hold on his words.

"Tell me!"

"I know just as much as you, Rachel."

She grits her teeth together, " _liar_." Her words are laced with emotion, though which ones precisely she doesn't quite know. "You were sent here to capture us, but I don't – I don't know why. I only saw . . ." she trails off, the amazement flooding over her once more. " _How_ did I see?" Her words are quiet, but he still hears.

"You saw what I let you see," he says, though doesn't seem convinced of his own words.

Rachel frowns, "what you let me see?"

"Yes." He dares a step closer, though his gaze does not leave the weapon in her hands. Rachel's jaw tightens, as does her grip on the lightsaber. "I allowed you to look into my mind." She gives pause, her intuition telling her otherwise. It hadn't _felt_ like he had been in power, and the dread in his eyes had definitely told a different story.

"I don't believe you."

"Do you really think that you could have overpowered me?" he asks, a cocky smirk beginning to grow.

"You, the little girl from some nothing planet. Don't think you're so special."

Under his gaze, she suddenly feels about two inches tall, and not so powerful as she did moments ago. Her eyes peer down, if only for a few seconds, but that's all that he needs.

She feels his hands grasp over hers and taking control of the lightsaber before she can even fight back. Rachel struggles against his strength, mindful of the dangerous weapon between them. In the tussle, it find its way back into Jesse's ownership. He lifts his hand in the air once more – for a moment she fears he will once again enter her thoughts, but this time is different. His focused eyes meet her terrified ones; that is the last thing that Rachel sees before her world plunges into darkness.

* * *

Puck watches, hiding behind of stack of musty, old dresses before being shoed away by the stall owner. BB – 8 almost topples over as he scrambles to get away from her too, but Puck quickly steadies the droid in one quick move. He glares back at her, shaking his own hand toward the woman to move her on. "I'm not doing anything!" The man grumbles, "stop shooing me." She suddenly stops, rushing to hide behind her own things as she spots something in the distance. He halts, frozen, as he realizes Finn and his captors are headed this way.

"Shit, shit shit," he mumbles as he dives behind the nearest thing for cover. It curses even further as he stubs his foot on the piles of crap that sit around them. "I can't wait to go home," he laments aloud. BB – 8 chirps in agreement. Puck lowers himself further as they walk past, a parade of impressive looking blasters and white guards. He peers around the village, watching as people cower from the sight of them.

 _Who are these people?_

He spies Finn again, hands clamped together and being forced forward with a gun to his back. The dark skinned girl in front of him walks with satisfaction, each step one of proud success. Puck really hopes that he can ruin her day. "C'mon BB -8, we need a plan to get Finn back. You're his droid, any ideas?"

It stares blankly at him.

"Are you serious? What is the point of having your expensive ass around if you can even think of an escape plan?!" He fumes, crawling along the floor to keep his eye on the moving group. The urgency of the situation is not lost on him, knowing that their ship is not going to be far behind. "Keep it, BB – 8," he whispers, moving around a cowering kid. It makes his heart sink to see such fear in the boy's eyes, only further fuelling his curiosity as to who Finn's captors are, and what they're capable of.

He frowns when he bumps into a suddenly stationary BB – 8. " _What_?"

The droid beeps back, eyepiece spinning around over his circular body toward a certain stall. Lay among the chipped wood are hundreds of fireworks of all shapes and sizes. His eyes glisten excitedly as he suddenly grins, "You, my little friend, are one smart droid."

* * *

Finn trudges along, exhaustion taking over him. The heat of the two suns combined causes a sweat to build on his brow, eyes squinting closed so that he can see ahead. He moves forward, however, with the ever present feeling of the blaster held to his back. He cranes his neck to look around, hoping to catch glimpse of Puck or Rachel, _or_ anyone that can save him.

"Dammit!" The captain slaps the communicator on her wrist, frustration building. "St James," she tries once more, practically growling when she gets no reply. "Jesse, come in." She looks over her shoulder at him, a glare that sends a shiver down his spine. Still, he makes a point to send her the same look back.

Sighing loudly, she tries another person. "Brit," she starts, "update me, babe."

"I thought I was already dating you?" The confused voice comes through, and Finn feels his blood run cold. Brittany is working with this girl? But wait, Rachel brought them to her – does that mean . . . No, he shakes his head. He trusts Rachel, he really does, and he quickly forces any thought of her being somehow involved out of his head.

"We are," she deadpans, "how is our guest doing? Please tell me you have Puckerman under control."

"Who's control and why is he under them?"

Finn stifles a laugh, despite his situation. When Santana looks at him again, he's particularly glad that looks _cannot_ kill.

" _ **Do you have Puckerman**_?" she yells into the communicator, stopping everyone in their tracks.

There is a long pause. "Sanny, he left me to go and save his friends. He's a nice friend."

"You let him go?" She slaps a hand to her face, slowly lowering it. To Finn, the words are music to his ears. If Puck is free, then hopefully he's working on a plan, and with any luck he'll be with Rachel and BB – 8. "What do you mean you let him go? _Where is he_?" The anger in her voice has everyone around them wincing, Finn included.

To add to her annoyance, she finally hears back from this Jesse. Finn strains his ears to listen in, "Santana, come in."

She hurries to reply, "You better have good news for me."

"Afraid not, the girl escaped – had some accomplices in the town." He gives a defeated sigh, "slipped away from me. We'll just have to proceed with Hudson."

 _Rachel escaped._ He can't help the smile that spreads onto his face, only for him to be shoved forward once more.

"I am done with you amateurs today," Santana hisses to him, "don't even bother getting on the same ship with me."

"I'll head back first and tell the Empress."

"You better hope she doesn't want to mount your head in her collection," she deadpans, followed by a sneer. "Why am I the only one who can do my job?" she mutters under her breath, spinning around to face her subordinates, clearly pissed. "Any other of you idiots want to mess up today?"

They reply with a stony silence.

A silence that doesn't last for very long.

Not too far away, an explosion of smoke and noise bursts into the sky as fireworks shoot this way and that. The dim red sky is suddenly filled with color as each one shatters with an eruption of blues, greens and oranges.

Finn panics when he realizes that they are not only going upwards. Nope, they're coming _toward_ them. "Get down!" he yells as one whizzes past with a screech, knocking a guard down to the floor. The villagers flee in a panic as the whole stall sets alight, more and more fireworks flying in every direction. Smoke spreads quickly, soon blinding their eyesight so that Finn can only hear the chaos going on around him.

" **What is happening**?" Santana yells.

He no longer feels the weapon shoved against his back, and he tries his best to shake off his captors, but in the confusion he can't tell who's an innocent bystander and who is a part of Santana's group. The earth is hard beneath his hands, cracked and dry, but he scrambles at it to get away.

"Hudson!"

He ducks further, which is really hard when you're over six foot. He inwardly curses and hopes that the cover of the smoke is enough.

Finn dodges that feet that stomp around him, then stops as he picks up on a different sound – one that sounds close to the roar of an engine. He can hear its struggle forward, choking on the air . . . only for him to realize that it's moving straight toward him.

"Crap," he says, coughing on the smell of sulfur with his eyes closed shut.

"I can't see!" the disfigured words of the guards sounds through.

Santana's voice follows. "Get hold of Hudson and get him to – what the hell is that?"

He peers up then, squinting to see his best, only to make out the blur of a red shape. It grows in size until his vision is nothing but rusty red staring back at him. As it nears, the clunking of the engine grows with it, a deafening sound that makes his ears ring. Finn squeezes his eyes closed, bracing himself as best he can.

A hand reaches for his back, grasping onto his clothes.

He fills with relief as he hears Puck's familiar voice. "Get the fuck on, now." When he glances up, Puck's face is wrapped in a scarf, huge goggles protecting his eyes. He smiles, standing shakily and jumping on top of the stolen speeder. "BB – 8!" he announces as he sees his droid, who greets him with a chirp.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

They surge forward, Finn clutching tightly to the hot metal and watching as his captors become smaller. As expected, they're shooting at them in a matter of seconds, forcing Puck to have to zig zag away to avoid damage.

"Where are we going?" he asks his friend, staring back at the carnage of the scene.

Puck frowns, "the fuck away from that crazy woman."

"Wait, wait." He suddenly panics. "Rachel – we need to find her."

"Are you serious dude? I'm gonna save my own ass first," he seethes, "you're welcome, by the way." He has to swerve as a blaster hits the ground before them, a cloud of dust appearing before them. He focuses ahead, before slowing the speeder to almost stop.

As if instantly, Santana and her cronies are catching up, shot after shot aimed toward them.

Finn freaks out. " _Dude_!" He then follows his line of sight. "Oh no."

"It's a Senate ship."

The pair stare at the huge command ship which has settled neatly on a nearby hill. At over one hundred times bigger than the falcon, the ship is an intimidating sight, but for these two a welcomed one too.

"What are you waiting here for? Go!"

Puck kicks the speeder into action. "You do realize that your step dad is going to kill us, right?"

"Better than being killed by those guys!" He yells in return.

* * *

Burt Hummel stares ahead in wonder at the scene before him. Some sort of small uprising in the Jungai village had been on their attention for the past few minutes, and now there are some idiots escaping on an outdated speeder toward their ship.

 _Good luck with that._ He gives a soft chuckle – this ship is the pride of the entire Senate, meticulously crafted by the best engineer available. _Him._

"Get a closer look at that speeder," he tells Sam, "I want to know who they are and what they're doing."

"Yes, sir."

He peers at the scan as it zooms closer to them, showing a crystal clear picture of something that makes his heart beat a little faster. "It's Master Hudson, sir." Sam says after a few moments and an identification test. "With Master Puckerman."

Burt sighs, "Of course it is."

The feeling of relief of having found Finn is quickly overshadowed with worry. They're being followed, and their pursuers are catching up _fast_. "Well what are we doing sitting here, let's go and get them. And prepare the cannons! I don't want those criminals within one hundred feet of my step son, alright?"

"Charging the cannons." Sam echoes, "Primed in ten seconds."

"Good." He pats his shoulder, then reaches for his blaster, "I'll be back soon." He rushes out of the control room, moving through the winding corridors with ease, until he finds himself at the entrance hatch. Sided by his guards, he opens it up, immediately feeling the heat of the planet.

He cocks the blaster, "alright fellas, either of you accidentally shoot Finn or his friend and you are fired, got it?"

They nod in understanding, before rushing out onto the planet's surface. He joins them, concentrating on the group behind Finn. Burt doesn't have to wonder who they are – he knows. This is the work of Sue, trying to get to him through those closest to him. How they found his step son so easily, he isn't sure, but he hopes that it bodes well for him finding her. Then it's one step closer to rescuing the Madame President.

"Ready," he shouts, aiming with high precision. "And fire!" They send a well-trained wall of plasma gets sent toward the assailants.

* * *

"Finn, Burt is firing at us!" Puck's voice rises with worry, hands hesitating on the thruster.

He can barely hear Puck over the sound of his own heartbeat throbbing in his head. With shots fired from both sides, it's an intense few moments for the three as they speed through the sea of dust and plasma.

BB – 8 beeps frantically behind them, alerting them to the tiefighers appearing high above them. The three ships hover around them, their shots more accurate and deadly.

"Just gonna throw this out there, but I am never trusting Rachel again!" Puck yells.

Finn's heart stops. "Rachel," he whispers.

"Puck, where is she?" he asks, his face grave.

" _I don't know_!" He frowns, "I'm kind of busy at the minute!" As if to emphasise his point, a loud blast forces them sideways.

Yet Finn struggles to get the brunette out of his mind, which sweeps him up with worry. She'd saved their lives and now they're just going to leave her here? Besides, he _likes_ Rachel – she's nice and sweet and he doesn't want to leave her behind. Friends just don't do that.

Despite the onslaught on them, they plough on. Burt's forces fight back, and when Finn looks to their pursuers, he sees them plucked off one by one, yet Santana still stands. Her dark eyes are honed in on them; he fears that this isn't the last they're going to see of her. The sky is alive with fire as Burt's ship shoots out, too. The power cannon blasts every few moments, filling the red hue with dark smoke. Not fifteen minutes ago this place had been a peaceful little fishing village, and now it's a battleground, nothing but chaos and destruction.

The nearest tiefighter is so fast that it almost knocks him off the speeder, Finn gripping it with a painful hold. "Are we almost there?" he shouts over the noise.

Puck revs the engine, "I'm trying my best. You wanna drive?"

"Just hurry," he insists, unable to sit still as struggles to know where to look next. The speeder jerks to a halt as a tiefighter hits too close to home, only to be instantly hit by Burt. Finn hardly has time to celebrate as they are thrown to the floor.

"No, no, no," he mumbles, scrambling to his feet, "c'mon, the ship isn't far." He rushes to untie BB – 8 from the damaged machine, his droid stuck upside down and head spinning around dizzily. "You alright, bud?" he asks.

When upright, BB – 8 shakes his head and refocuses his eyepiece, before giving Finn a nod. Glancing ahead, he spies Puck already hurrying away, the urgency of the situation catching up with him again. Together, he and his droid run from the burning ship, until Burt is close enough so that he can make out the man's face, every stern inch of it. He gulps. Maybe being captured would have been an easier alternative to the fate ahead of him.

* * *

Santana knows when she's lost a fight, and she begrudgingly pulls her troops to a halt. While she doesn't particularly care whoever dies or lives, she knows that she isn't going to be successful against Senator Hummel, not with this armoury at hand. She watches with annoyance as their last tiefighter falls to the ground in a cloud of orange dust.

"Retreat!" she yells, "back to the ship!"

They hastily return to the cruiser, all climbing aboard as the shooting stops.

"The empress is not going to be happy," TR 358 asks, the Stormtrooper lowering himself to one of the seats. His armour is no longer the pristine white, but matted with dirt and blood.

She shakes her head, "no, unless . . ." She stops, then peers toward the Senator's ship as they are rising higher in the sky, "unless we lead them all back to the Empress. Why have one prize when we can have a whole ship of the enemies? There have got to be hundreds of people on there." Santana smiles then, though there is nothing joyous about the sight, "imagine the carnage."

* * *

"I can't believe that you would steal one of my ships and sneak off, especially without telling anyone," Burt continues into what feels like the fourth hour of his lecture. "Do you know how worried we have been? How concerned your mother has been?" Finn sinks further in his seat at this, wishing that a hole could just appear and swallow him up.

"I'm sorry," he repeats, "I just – I don't know . . . we just wanted to have a good time."

He continues to pace around the room, shaking his head. "And this," he gestures to the crashed ships, "is a good time? You have caused damage to this village which will take months for these people to fix! Do you not consider your actions?" His breaths deepen, though still remain angry, "as my step son, you are a representative of me and the Senate, and this behaviour is not acceptable."

Dropping further still, " _I know_."

"Then why do it?"

He has no answer for that, only averting his gaze to the suddenly interesting floor.

"I hope that this teaches a lesson – the _both_ of you." Burt glances between the two sulking boys, "if the scanners hadn't picked up the millennium falcon then we might never have found you."

Still nothing from either of them.

Burt sighs, disappointment filling the room, "and how, dare I ask, did you get into trouble with these . . . these criminals?"

This is where Puck interjects. "You mean the people who have been chasing us for days?"

"Days?" He asks in surprise.

"Yes, like we told you. We were going to Chokko City when they started blasting at us, and we've had them on our tail ever since. We've crash landed, been prisoners – not to mention used as a bargaining chip for favors, and chased more times than I can count!" He glares at Burt, "we haven't exactly had the time of our lives, if you know what I mean."

He raises his brow, wearing that look that all parents apparently have. "All the more reason to show you that travelling unsupervised is dangerous."

Finn shares a look with his friend, who remains silent. "Look," he adds, "I know that we've messed up, and my mom is pissed . . . but we didn't mean for any of this to happen. We just wanted to have some fun, you know? Didn't you ever do that when you were our age?"

Burt doesn't answer, he only observes them with great annoyance. "You're lucky we arrived when we did," he states, "Otherwise I might have been bringing you home under different circumstances. The people after you – they aren't the type to quit so easily."

At this, Finn jolts up in his seat. "You _knew_ them?"

"Not personally," he waves off Finn's concern, "but I know who they work for."

"Who?" The two ask in unison.

He looks to them like he never has before, and it's now that he realizes how _tired_ Burt looks. He gulps, his voice barely a whisper as he asks, "w – what is going on, Burt?"

"Alright," he sighs, moving to sit as well. "What I am going to tell you is strictly between us, alright? No running your mouth off to everyone that you see." Puck is given a stern look at this particular point, "but I suppose you're going to find out anyway." He pauses once more, the two hanging on his every word. "We are in trouble," he eventually admits, "the Senate, the Crusader system – hell, every system out there in our galaxy is facing a huge threat."

Finn shudders at Burt's hollows words, though his silence encourages him to continue.

"An exiled Senator, by the name of Sue Sylvester, has drawn together an impressive army. She calls herself the Empress . . . and she wants to destroy everything we fight for. She doesn't have time for democracy, or people's rights. She is a heartless, cruel woman, and she is growing stronger with every second."

It takes a few moments to let the words sink in, yet as they do Finn is suddenly filled with energy, jumping to his feet. "Well, we need to go stop her before it's too late! We have enough men on this ship, Burt. We can do it!"

"Whoa, whoa – calm down, Finn. It's not as easy as just rushing in. She has many spies around the galaxy, the greedy and the corrupted. She will not go down without a fight, and I'll bet it will be a good one at that." The older man suddenly becomes more sombre now, eyes brimming with concern. "And she has the Madame President on board her command ship, alongside two Senators. My mission is to bring them to safety, fighting without the support of the fleet would be suicide."

"She can't have," he shakes his head in disbelief. " _How_?"

Burt shrugs, hopefully. "We do not know what power she has within our own walls, but we must be cautious. Sue wants to rule the galaxy to her own advantage, and not with peace." He shifts nervously then, more bothered than ever. "She also has another agenda – one that scares me more than anything."

"What?" Puck breathes.

"The prophecy," he states, "says that force wielders are the only ones who can bring balance to the world and so . . . she wishes to destroy them – all of them."

"Kurt," Finn says, quickly understanding.

"Yes, but not just Kurt. Quinn, Mercedes . . . and whoever the fourth will be. We need to protect them now more than ever."

He purses his lips together in thought. "Do they know?"

"Not yet. They already have so much to worry about – with their training."

"But if they don't know what they're up against, what's the point?" His voice grows angry now, the frustration of the situation getting to him.

Before it can escalate any further, Sam enters the room looking embarrassed as to interrupt. "We are set to follow the enemy ships, Sir. We have a tracker in place and a steady course set."

"Thank you, Captain. Keep me updated on everything. I want to know when Sue is near, understood?"

"Wait, no, no." Finn suddenly panics as the ship begins to ascend. "We can't leave, not without Rachel." He feels guilty for having forgotten about her in the brief panic, and now worry floods every inch of his body. "Land this ship, now."

"Who is Rachel?"

"She helped us escape from New – Ohio5," Puck supplies the answer, "and she was with us here. I don't know where she went."

Finn is frantic now. "They were after her, too. I heard them on Santana's communicator, but he said that she had escaped . . . she would have found us though, right?" He turns to Puck, " _right_?"

"Dude, I dunno. Maybe she just used us to get a free ride. Look, this stuff happens."

He frowns deeply at that thought. "No, she wouldn't do that."

"Look, Finn." Puck's words are delicate, fit for the situation, "I know that you took a liking to her – I mean, she was nice and everything, but there are plenty more girls in the galaxy. Why is she so special?"

Finn doesn't say anything back then, unsure of exactly what to say without making his feelings appear too strong. All he knows is that abandoning her is not an option, especially not for him. He doesn't know why she is special, just that she _is_ – to him, anyway. "We just . . . we need to find her, aright?"

"It's too late," Burt says, a sadness to his voice, "I'm sure that she is fine."

He doesn't accept that, he wants to know for himself. In an instant, he flees for the door, "I'm taking the escape pod – I'll look for her myself."

"Finn, don't do this!"

"I have to."

Burt shares a look with Puck, then turns his sights of Sam. "Captain, could you please restrain Master Finn and place him somewhere safe?"

"Yes Sir."

"Wait, no – get off me." He shrugs off Sam's hands, "you can't do this."

He steps closer, voice soft, "Finn, this is for your own safety. I can't let you go down there."

" _Please_ ," he begs, "I need to go."

Burt doesn't say anything, and moments later Finn finds more than one pair of hands on him. He fights with all he's got, but against three and doubled with exhaustion he is not match. All he can think about is Rachel, and the promise he'd made to bring her back to his home. As they move further away from the planet, he feels his heart sinking as he knows he can't fulfil that promise.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, Jesse?" Shelby asks as she enters the room, voice curious and slightly raised.

Unlike everyone else, he is immune to its powers. "Shelby, close the door." He insists, his voice a harsh whisper.

Her brows knitting together in confusion, she does as he says yet remains dubious. He gestures for her to come closer, her heels clicking away on the hard floor until she reaches his spot. Shelby's eyes stare down to the unconscious girl on the medtable, hair strewn over the edge. She looks troubled, even in her sleep, and from her dishevelled appeared, it's clear that she has been through quite an adventure. "Who is this girl?" She demands to know.

Jesse shakes his head in wonder, smiling faintly. "She resisted my powers, Shelby. _Me_."

"She _what_?"

"Yes," he moves around, staring the analysis screen before him, "I entered her mind, and she – she pushed me out. I have never seen that before."

"Some people are more strong minded than others," Shelby insists, "you would not be able to see my thoughts."

He nods, "I know, but this wasn't the same. After she forced me out, she didn't stop there and the next thing I know, she could see _my_ thoughts."

Shelby gives pause, eyes widening in awe. She peers down to the young girl, who looks nothing more than a common prisoner, and then back to Jesse, "you don't think . . .?"

"Her midichlroians are off the chart," he answers, "she is strong with the force."

"And Sue . . . does she know?"

Jesse shakes his head, "no one but you and I know she is here."

"She will be killed if she is found, as will you – she is dangerous to have here, Jesse." He sighs, having expected this reaction.

"The more power we have on our side, the more chance we have of succeeding. She could be a great ally."

"Ally? You kidnapped her." She deadpans. "You think that you can convince her you're nothing more than a common criminal?"

"Minds are easily influenced."

Shelby cocks her brow, a hand placed neatly on her hip. "What makes you so sure?"

"I saw inside her mind, Shelby. She is so desperate for a sense of belonging – we can use that. She has no family, no friends . . . we simply give her what she wants." His thoughts are overwhelming, yet he knows that she is essential to their plan. "She is what we have needed this whole time."

Though doubtful, Shelby continues, "and the Senate – will they not be looking for her? If she can use the force, they will surely be searching for the girl. They do not yet have the fourth."

He pauses then, peering back to Rachel. Jesse brushes a stray hair out of her face, staring at her troubled expression. "They don't know. Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman are hardly geniuses, and I dare say that Rachel even knows what she is herself."

"So," she says after a moment of thought, "you offer her answers and she offers us her powers?"

Jesse smirks, eyes determined. "Yes."

* * *

Thanks once more for reading. Please review :)


	4. Stowaways

**So this turned out longer than expected and I've had to cut it in half. I really let myself run away with this one. Thanks again for all the reviews. They are all appreciated!**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Stowaways

* * *

Jesse winces as he hears Santana's own berating from their Empress, thankful that he is no longer the subject of her ferocity. Still, his back stings from the lashings he had received, a painful reminder that failure is not an option. When the door opens, he finds an admonished Santana staring back at him, her face ghostly white and hands firmly balls into fists, but her tight lips remain. She glares at him with annoyance, scowling.

"This is all your fault," the woman hisses, "I had Hudson – we could have had another prisoner but you wanted to split up."

"I thought that we'd have a better chance individually," he says with earnest. Jesse doesn't share the fact that he was right, and his prize is lay hidden on this ship right as they speak. "The Empress will forgive us in time – she needs us."

Santana pauses, thoughtful. For a moment, he sees a glimpse of vulnerability before it's hidden beneath confidence, "she needs _me_. In all honesty, I'm surprised she hasn't killed you yet, seeing as you are a force wielder."

"I am not the one from that stupid prophecy," Jesse scoffs, "the force can be used for so much more than peace keeping – it's a raw and natural power than I can use to make the universe better, the way _I_ want it to be."

"You mean the way the Empress wants it to be."

"Well, of course," he says, "but she and I want the same thing. I can help her get it. I was taught by the same man who now teaches those . . . _children_. They know nothing that I don't, and I know so much more than them."

She rolls her eyes, "Oh yes, the lame son of darkness story is about to come – I can't wait."

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Santana. You know what I am capable of."

The woman scoffs once more, proceeding to walk about, "I am not intimidated by you, Jesse. I ain't scared of nobody." She shrugs off his overconfidence with a look of disgust, "besides, you were taught by Will Schuester, that doesn't impress me in the slightest." He follows her steps, his own fast and determined.

"I've learned a lot since then."

"Yeah, like how to fit your head up your own ass."

His eyes narrow, "very funny." The pair stop to glare at a couple of stormtroopers who are unlucky enough to cross their path, the two quickening their pace and looking elsewhere. Jesse turns his focus back to Santana, grabbing hold of her arm.

She tugs it away, ferocity in her eyes, "don't even start, Jesse. It's your fault that the Empress is pissed at the both of us, and I don't want to hear your excuses." She pauses then, annoyance turning into overconfidence. "At least I had a back-up plan, and now the Senate ship should be on their way here."

"A Senate ship?"

"Yes, carrying none other than Senator Hummel. A nice little addition to our Lady's collection, don't you think?"

Jesse frowns, head shaking lightly, "he won't be stupid about it, Santana – they will have a plan. A good one at that."

"And so will we," she replies in an instant, "The Empress is ready, security is increased in every sector and she's making a holding cell nice and comfortable for our new guest."

He nods, "I suppose I better be prepared then . . . alert me when they're here."

She smirks, "I'm sure you will know, Jesse." Santana waves him off, sarcasm dripping in her voice, "so long, son of darkness – have fun in your evil lair."

As he's walking away, a scowl remains firm on his lips, shoulders hunching in annoyance. "I really hate that girl," he says aloud, just loud enough for him to hear. His thoughts push on, however, away from his despise for his fellow commander, to more pressing matters. A Senate ship, no doubt carrying Hudson and Puckerman, too. His heart beats that little faster at the thought that the rescue mission may involve more than just the captured politicians, but also his newest prize in his quarters.

He slinks through the many corridors, twisting and winding down the familiar path. He jams the air lock behind him – you never can be _too_ safe. Jesse shrugs off his long cloak, throwing it carelessly aside as his eyes stare straight ahead.

She is still sleeping, her body spread across the medtable as it had been before he'd left. Her mouth hangs open slightly in a small frown, forehead wound tightly together as though her dreams are upsetting her. Jesse thinks back to what he'd seen in her mind, the girl's troubled past. He still desires to know what her vision had entailed, but brute force will no longer work – a longer game is needed now.

Another image shows in his mind, of the island she so strongly imagines. He sees it sometimes, too, with crashing waves and misty hills. It's one of the few things that he does not understands, and he doubts that Rachel knows the significance either.

Rachel's fingers twitch in her sleep, wrists struggling slightly against her restraints before she returns to stillness. He leans forward, curiously, unable to tear his eyes from the girl. Her breath is heavier before she utters one word, brimming with fear and pain. "Finn," she whispers out, much to Jesse's chagrin. Cursing under his breath, he stomps away from her, furiously typing in the code of the door lock to close the door.

The anger doesn't subside, and before he knows it his lightsaber is pulled out and activated, a well-aimed hit landing on the wall beside him. Teeth clenched, he yanks it from the sparking metal and repeats the motion, relieving his rage simultaneously. He stares at the damage, the metal having been no match for his saber which had sliced right through it.

He hopes that Finn Hudson is on that Senate ship, just so that he can destroy the man himself.

* * *

Only a few lightyears away, Finn Hudson too lies in a troubled sleep. Twisting and turning on the hammock, he lays prey to his own thoughts.

He can only listen as his head filled with thunderous screams – woman, children and men, all terrified. Of what, he doesn't know. Still, it fills Finn to the brim with dread. An everlasting darkness is the only thing he can see, looming over his mind in the most menacing of ways.

And then suddenly – light.

He blinks rapidly in the blinding whiteness, stepping out of what appears to be a cave. Finn's ears catch the trickle of running water, then he sucks in a rush of sea air as it dances around the hills. A flash of brunette hair has him confused, quickly mobile and following over the rocky hills. Salty air burns his lungs, the cold whip of water on his skin as he runs with determination. "Hey," he calls out to no reply, but another sighting of the person.

She runs and he follows, up and up and up, until his body cries out in earnest exhaustion. "Stop, wait!"

The figure stands overlooking the ferocious sea, hair whipping strongly to the side. Finn halts, recognition hitting him like a brick. "Rachel," he whispers, then louder, "Rachel, is that you?"

She turns, and Finn feels a splitting smile spread across his face. "Rach, thank god – I've been so worried."

But she doesn't share his expression – instead her face is ghostly pale, eyes full of terror. "Finn," she calls out, "Finn . . . _run_."

"W – What?"

"Run," she says again, stepping further toward the edge. His heart spasms in his chest, and he moves to reach out for her but he is glued to the spot. Calling her name frantically seems to do nothing, and she only repeats the word _run_ over and over.

She disappears right in front of him, only for the chorus of screaming to return. But one voice sounds strongest above them all, sounding so real it's almost as though she is physically whispering in his ear. _Finn._

He bolts upright, so frantic and stimulated that he tangles his long limbs in the hammock and is sent flying out of the material with a loud _thud_. Panting heavily, he tries to piece together his thoughts, picking himself up in a daze. Finn reaches out a hand to the nearest wall to steady himself, then jumps as he realizes he is not alone in the room.

"Puck?" he snaps, "what are you doing here?"

"Whoa, what's with the attitude?" His friend frowns, "just thought I'd give you some company, but you were asleep so instead I ate your dinner."

Finn's stomach instantly growls in response, and he glares toward his friend. "Are you serious?"

He grins, "Dude, do you think I'd do that? Everyone know not to come between you and food." With that, he slides a tray forward, one which Finn instantly scoops up and begins scoffing the food from.

"Have a nice nap, Princess?" Puck asks with a smirk, jumping on the now abandoned hammock.

"Shut up."

Puck laughs, "aww, come on. Don't be annoyed at me – I'm not the one who locked you in here."

"I still can't believe Burt did that. He just . . . made us leave without her, it's not fair."

"Finn," he sighs, "I know that you were friends with her, but she can look after herself. Besides, we only knew her for like, a day and a half, she's just some girl, right?"

He doesn't answer, instead slowing in his ravenous attack on his meal. Puck picks up his weird vibe immediately, throwing a curious glare across the small room. "Don't tell me that you fell for her that quickly. I know that you are kind of lonely from Quinn dumping your ass, but Rachel? I guess she's kind of hot but that doesn't compensate for personality."

Finn rolls his eyes, "that's not what's wrong."

"Then what is?"

He pauses, thoughtful. Finn isn't even sure himself, still overwhelmed with confusion from what he'd just dreamt. For all he knows, he could be going crazy.

" _Come on_ ," Puck encourages. "I'm your best friend."

Placing down his tray, hands shaking, he heaves in a huge sigh, "I can't really make sense of it myself."

"I wanna know!"

Finn's eyes meet his, hesitance clear. "I – you can't tell anyone else, okay? Especially not . . . not Rachel."

Puck leans in closer, keen on hearing the juicy information. "Go on," he smiles, rubbing his hands together giddily.

"Will you not?" he grumbles.

" _What_?"

"This is serious, Puck – I'm actually, I dunno, kind of worried."

His smirk flips into a frown in an instant, a rare moment of concern following. "Look, you can tell me, I won't judge."

He pulls in a shuddery breath, eyes averting away. "You know how I have those dreams sometimes, right?"

"The one about that island?"

Finn nods, "yeah. And . . . I guess I only ever told my mom and Kurt about this because I didn't really – I dunno, understand it myself. But, it wasn't just an island." Puck looks over to him in curiosity, tilting his head slightly. "There is always this girl, ever since I can remember she has been part of my dreams. . ."

He runs a hand through his dishevelled hair, eyes thoughtful.

"I didn't think that she was real – just part of my imagination, you know?"

Puck nods, for once allowing him to fully think out his words.

". . . And then I met Rachel."

Finn closes his eyes, a heavy feeling of uncertainty running through him. " _She's_ the girl from my dreams, Puck."

Silence follows after, lasting so long that Finn has to peek an eye open to see if his friend is in fact still there in the flesh. He is, and he's staring at Finn as though he's got a few screws loose. It makes the man sink further in his position against the wall. He's too scared to look at Puck's face for the fear that his one best friend might treat him differently.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah," he confirms, "I know it sounds crazy. How can I dream about someone and know exactly what they look like and talk like before I meet them in real life? It's . . . it's beyond crazy – but that doesn't make it any less real."

He closes and opens his mouth a few times, before finally settling on, "have you told her?"

"Are you _crazy_?"

"Well, I don't know! Everything you're telling me now is insane." Puck's trail of thought wanders, "though I guess it's pretty clear why you wanted to go back for her."

"It's not just that," he says, "she helped us, Puck – it's not right that we just left her, no matter what Burt says. She's our friend." He doesn't argue with him, nor does he look best please at Finn's choice of words.

He's quiet for a few moments, then he asks. "These dreams . . . what are they about?"

" _What_?"

He licks his lips, "they're not like - dirty dreams or anything?"

Finn's eyes bulge, "dude, no. They were like," he pauses, cautious again, "they don't really make much sense . . . they're weird, I guess." His idly messes with the empty bowl in front of him, body falling in on itself. He casts his mind back to his latest dream, brain scrambling to make any sense of it and failing.

A deep sigh follows, filled with upset, "I just wish that I could see her again, you know? I thought that I'd finally know what the dreams meant and now – well, I'm stuck in here until we get home, no doubt my mom is gonna ground my ass and Rachel is alone, again."

Puck appears to experience some guilt there, eyes dropping to the floor.

Finn continues, regardless, "and I just feel like . . . like – there was something bigger to it all." Head shooting up, Puck only stares at him with knitted brows and a pursed lips. "I know what it sounds like. To be honest not much makes sense to me at the minute," he lowers his head into his hands, troubled.

All he knows is that he can't take his mind off of Rachel, _even_ in his sleep.

* * *

Rachel's head feels heavy as her eyes suddenly snap open, goosebumps growing on her cold arms as she finds herself in a strange setting. She tries to sit up, but metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles keep her in place against the hard table. "What the . . ." She trails off, teeth clenching together in concentration as she tries once more to break herself free to no avail.

"That won't help you."

She jumps at the sound of another woman's voice, eyes widening in fear. Only managing to turn her head slightly in her current predicament, she catches sight of a beautiful brunette, with unwavering, dark eyes and a soft smile. Following a shuddery breath are the words, "who are you?" Then, a more pressing matter, "where are Finn and Noah?"

"I don't know who they are," she replies honestly, moving slowly toward her with focused eyes. "You are our only guest."

"Some way to treat a guest," she scoffs, struggling against her bounds once more, her determination never wavering.

"Rachel, is there any need to carry on that incessant noise?"

She halts mid action, staring at her in confusion. "How do you know my name?" she doesn't give her the chance to answer. "Wait – I remember . . . Jesse. He did something to me."

"He simply put your mind to sleep," she offers an explanation, smiling once more. It doesn't do anything to put Rachel at ease, and instead has her skin crawling uncomfortably. "He brought you here to protect you."

" _Protect me_?"

Once more she is physically unable to remain still, limbs pushing against her bounds, so much that the dark haired woman sighs and steps even closer. Rachel flinches despite wanting to appear strong, but feeling incredibly vulnerable in her position.

"Yes," she enthuses. "There are people out there who will want to hurt you."

Her frown deepens, confusion seeping into every inch of her face. "Why me?" She looks straight into the woman's eyes, hoping to find her answers in there. "What's so special about me?"

She ignores that question, instead producing the same weapon that she'd used against Jesse. Rachel only stares at it, that feeling of connection soaring through her once more, as though the thing is alive, its energy moving inside of her.

"Do you know what this is?" The woman asks her.

Rachel doesn't miss a beat. "It's a lightsaber."

She nods. "And . . . how do you know that?"

Rachel struggles to find the right words, voice almost a whisper as she says, "I don't know – I saw it." She leaves out the bit about having seen it in Jesse's mind, still unsure as to how that had happened. Despite what he'd told her, she doesn't quite believe it – there is something inside her that is reaching out yet she can't hear it, not yet.

All she knows is that she had seen into his mind, and no matter what he says it had felt like she was the one in control.

The woman breaks her from her thoughts, voice strong and steady. "When you touched it for the first time, what did you see?"

She binks, flashing back to that moment. The pain returns, the destruction and utter chaos that she had experienced. Shaking her head, she tries to rid herself of those nagging feelings though struggles.

Once again, she doesn't share those thoughts. They have got to keep asking for a reason, and she isn't exactly going to trust the people who have her hear against her will. Her silence seems to anger her captor, her teeth gritting together in annoyance. Rachel keeps her lips kept firmly shut, eyes averting to the wall next to her.

"Rachel," the woman speaks more sternly, trying to pry the information from her.

"I may be your prisoner," she speaks out, "but I'm not going to give you what you want."

"You're not our prisoner."

She narrows her eyes, pointing them like a loaded gun to the woman, "I am not stupid, Lady. I'm not buying this story about Jesse wanting to protect me. He just wants to know about this . . . this stupid weapon and what I saw because of it." Rachel's lips curve downwards, forehead creased, "he forced his way into my mind and he _kidnapped_ me just to get that." She stares down at her restraints as if to prove a point." Then, her voice saddens, "he took me away from my friends . . ."

There is a long pause and to her credit, her captor seems to realize that they're not getting anywhere. Before she goes, however, she leaves with a words of warning, "Rachel, I am not lying when I say that there are people who want to hurt you. Perhaps it would do you some good to place your trust in Jesse."

And then she is gone, leaving Rachel to simmer on her words.

* * *

Puck jumps at the sound of the door opening, having been in a half asleep state. From the corner of his eye, he sees Finn moving to sit upright as well, curiously staring up to their visitor.

"Burt," Finn stands, then pauses when he sees the serious expression worn by him. "What's wrong?"

He peers between the both of them, then speaks. "We have found Sue's base – it's on a planet not far from here. A small group of my best men and I are going to go."

Puck inwardly groans.

Three.

Two.

One.

"I'm coming with you," Finn claims.

Burt's eyes bulge. "I don't think so, Finn."

"But why?"

"Because this is no place for a kid."

He deflates, then grumbles, "I'm not a kid, Burt."

"Yeah, well when your actions suggest otherwise then maybe I'll consider it. But right now, I need to two to stay here where it's safe."

"It will be our honor, Sir." Puck gives a mock salute. He really doesn't fancy going into the heart of trouble and risking his life without the thought of reward. Besides, he still has a nap to finish.

Burt places a strong hand on Finn's shoulder. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I go," he says to him, a rare soft moment between the two." Finn puts his hand over Burt's, giving a reluctant nod.

"Stay safe," he reminds him.

"You too." He pauses then, mouth twitching slightly, "and you're free to leave here, Finn." Burt sighs, "I am sorry about your friend."

The reminder of Rachel has both a little on edge, eyes staring at each other with knowing. If Burt notices, he doesn't say anything about it; without another word, he turns and makes to leave with heavy footsteps.

Puck waits for a few minutes of silence before speaking. "So that's it then. This shit is real." He sucks in a deep breath, "two days ago we didn't have a damn care in the world and now everything is just . . ."

"Awful," Finn finishes for him.

"Yeah."

"What if something happens to them?"

He turns to look at Finn fully, expression grave. "I don't know, dude."

Finn is already shaking his head, that same fire returning to his eyes, "We can't just sit here and wait to see if they come back. If this Sue is as dangerous as Burt says, then they need as much help as possible!"

"Woah, I think I know where this is going."

"You don't want to help?"

He pulls a face, mouth twisted, "are you serious right now? This woman has had people chasing us. We have almost died more times than I can count and you wanna go find her? Did you fall on your head when we crashed on New Oh – io5?" He stares at him in disbelief, eyes wide.

The man in question shifts uncomfortably under his gaze, though it's clear where his stance remains. "I know that they're dangerous . . . but I guess I feel like a tool just sat here waiting. Don't you?"

Puck's frown grows deeper, "I – I suppose." He's quick to counter, "But Burt said not to do anything."

"When have we ever listened to Burt?"

He curses under his breath at the truth in Finn's words.

"Well, you go if you wanna get yourself killed, but I have a nap to finish off and the rest of my life to live."

"Puck, come on – this is what you wanted. Adventure, the thrill of a lifetime!"

He narrows his eyes, "what I wanted was to spend time with hot girls and get drunk. I feel your plan involves _none_ of those things."

"We could be heroes."

"Your gig, not mine," he mutters.

After a moment, Finn sighs and lets his shoulders slump. "I can't do this without you Puck, and we both know it's the right thing to do." Puck dares to look into his eyes, suddenly finding it hard to resist his best friend. Though he tries to deny it, he knows that he owes Finn a lot and this wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of that.

He eventually relents. "If we get caught –"

"It was all my idea and I forced you into it."

"Hell yeah you did!"

Finn smiles then, relieved and nervous and determined all at the same time. His face softens, "Thanks dude."

* * *

Santana hurries through the hallways toward Jesse's quarters, satisfaction seeping from her as she knows that her plan is working. They may have had one little bump in the road but she will please the Empress – maybe then she can convince her that Jesse is useless to have around. Dangerous, too.

Too many times has he gone behind her back then grovel to the Empress like some overgrown puppy. She can see right through him, even if no one else will believe her. Still, it's almost entertaining to keep him around. It's not like he's going anything. She may as well get some fun out of teasing him. Like right now, she continues on her way to taunt him about her plan working, as usual.

Stopping in front of the door, she notices that it's been locked.

She frowns, though her confusion only last a few seconds. One of the perks of working for the Empress is having unlimited access to any part of the base, including that of her partner. She quickly types in the release code and watches as it lifts, only to find the room vacant. "Jesse," she calls out, stepping inside, "hey, loser – I just wanted to let you know that they're on their way. Those idiots think that we can't see their ships."

No response.

Letting out a huff of frustration, she steps further inside the hallway, peering inside the few rooms that beckon her forward. She succumbs to her own curiosity – it's rare that Jesse isn't here and guarding his things. Santana slowly steps around, ever conscious that he may come back any second yet driven by intrigue. There as to be more to this guy than meets the eye, and maybe she can rumble him before he does any harm to their mission.

Her eyes zone in on Jesse's lightsaber, confusion sweeping over her. He never parts with it, she knows because she always sees it swinging underneath his stupid coat. She steps forward, reaching out for the object with bubbling excitement.

She'd be lying if she said she'd never wanted to use it – it can slice right through a person! That is the kind of weapon that Santana needs in her life. She peers at it more closely, staring at the cylindrical object in her hand, but it's not . . . it's not Jesse's. His own weapon consists of perpendicular crossed blades at the hilt of the weapon, ones which glow a vivid red. This is different, singled bladed and silver in color.

Her blood suddenly runs cold. _Where_ did he get this?

She gazes over the rest of the room, wondering what other secrets he is hiding here, and she is sure as hell going to uncover them. Jesse St james will finally be revealed for what he is, and Sue can kill him like she does all the other force wielders.

Santana begins a frantic search of the rooms, carelessly moving Jesse's things out of her way. She just about catches the sound of movement that isn't her own, stopping with a strained ear as she listens. Her heart pounds slightly at the thought that Jesse could have returned, but she continues nevertheless.

That's when it happens.

She opens door after door until she stumbles upon something she certainly had _not_ been expecting.

Staring back at her is the girl from the village.

" _He lied_ ," she seethes.

* * *

Rachel winces as she's painfully dragged through the hallways, a guard flanking her on either side. "Who are you?" She demands to know, "what is going on?" She struggles against their hold, but being a good foot taller than some of them certainly doesn't help her in this situation.

Her eyes face forward, glaring to the woman who leads with a confident and proud step, holding a magnificent blaster in her hands. Rachel stops fighting when she suddenly finds herself the attention of said woman, those dark eyes burning her skin. "I swear if you don't stop, I will kill you myself." She gestures to her weapon, "and if I'm feeling kind, I'll use this rather than my bare hands."

She gulps, heart pacing frantically in her chest. She dare to ask one final question. "Where are you taking me?" The terror is evident in her voice, and that brings a sinister smile to the lips of her latest captor.

"To our Empress," she grins.

Moments later, she leans closer to Rachel and adds, "And between you and me, Shorty, I wouldn't count on leaving this room alive."

That causes Rachel to struggle once more.

Sometimes she thinks it may have been easier to just stay a prisoner on New Oh - io5.

* * *

Finn shoves Puck back around a corner quickly as two stormtroopers march past the pair, moving in unison. He turns back to his friend, "this place is too guarded – what are we supposed to do?

"This was your idea," he insists in annoyance. " _You_ think of a plan."

"Hey, I got us onto this planet!"

He rolls his eyes, "come on then master genius, where is Burt?"

Peering his eyes around the corner once more, he breathes a sigh of relief to see it clear. "We need to look for the prisons, that's where he'll be." He curses as more guards appear, weaving in and out of the corridors. "Dammit, there's too many of them and we're not exactly going to blend it." He stares at their clothes, which may as well scream that they don't belong to this ship.

"If only we could get a map of the place – why did Burt have to take BB – 8?"

Puck suddenly freezes, then reaches out and hits his arm repeatedly. "Ow, what are you _doing_?"

"Finn." His face is ghostly pale, nothing but shock.

"What?"

He gingerly raises his finger, whispering, "Look."

Turning, he follows Puck's line of gaze, only to adopt the same expression as his best friend when he sees the object of his attention. "Rachel," he says, not sure whether he could cry or jump for joy. Maybe both. But definitely _not_ this second. From their vantage point high above, they watch as Rachel is led over a walkway, easily ten guards surrounding the girl, and another familiar face leading the front.

"It's her," Finn hisses out, face twisting with disgust and anger. "The one from the village but . . . how have they got Rachel? He said – he said that she'd escaped."

Puck shrugs, "maybe he caught up with her."

"Or maybe he lied," he stares, "maybe he didn't want anyone to know that he had her."

"Why would he want to do that?"

He watches Rachel, filled with restored hope that balances out the fear currently plaguing him. "I don't know . . . something isn't right. I can feel it." His insides twist and turn unsurely, chest squeezing tight with dread at the whole situation. He wants nothing more than to call out her name, to let him know that he's going to help her, but he forces himself to remain quiet. That doesn't stop his mind from calling out to her.

Then, just as they're about to disappear out of sight, she turns as though looking for someone. Her eyes don't quite rise to where they are hidden, and he watches with a heavy heart as she's suddenly gone.

Finn is suddenly full of determination and raring to go. Puck must notice because he gives him a strange look, bordering on concern. "Finn," he starts, "what are you thinking?"

"We need to find out where they're going."

"What?" he spits out. "I thought we were here to help Burt."

He is checking if the coast is clear again, then diving to the other side of the hallway. "Plan's changed," he says, though Puck has clearly already pieced that together. "First, save Rachel and then with the three of us we can help Burt, too."

"Since when did Rachel become our main priority?"

Finn gives him a hard look.

"Alright, okay – the dream stuff, I remember," he shrugs, "but we still have a problem. How are we supposed to get around this place? We're not exactly dressed like the locals."

He visibly deflates, once more staring to the spot where he had just seen Rachel. When he thinks of her, trapped in this awful place, his determination returns, jaw locking tightly as he thinks. Another patrol heads their way, and he stares at the white and black armor worn by the guards, an idea popping into his head.

* * *

Burt watches as the Stormtrooper falls to the ground following his precise hit – just enough to knock him out. Sam helps him move the body out of sight before they continue their mission. He turns as they reach a ship terminal, turning to Finn's droid. "Alright BB – 8, time to show me how useful you are."

BB – 8 chirps in response, rolling toward the terminal and attaching its robotic arm to the main frame. Codes fly over the screen as it searches for critical information about the ship, most importantly where Sue is keeping the captured Senators and their Madame President. He nervously looks around, trying to remain stoic despite his worries.

"Come on," he mutters to himself, hurrying along the droid.

They are flush against the walls, hands carefully placed around their blasters just in case. Despite the distant sound of footsteps, there doesn't seem to be many Stormtroopers patrolling this area. That doesn't seem right, he thinks.

If he knows Sue like he does, this place would be crawling with protection – unless of course their attention is elsewhere.

The droid brings him from his thoughts, a frantic beep that sends dread through his veins. "Did you find them?" he asks, leaning in closer and scrutinizing the screen with narrowed eyes.

But he doesn't see the prisoners.

He sees the last thing that he is expecting. And yet, he isn't surprised _at all._

The security footage shows Finn and Puckerman disguising themselves as Stormtroopers, the armor ill-fitting on his tall step – son. "What are they _thinking_?" he asks, then makes a sharp turn toward his second in command. "How did they get off the ship?" Burt had been half expecting a move like this, yet the anticipation doesn't make him any less angry.

Sam struggles for words, then frowns, "I don't know, Sir. They must have followed us – we cannot see any ships when invisible, either. It's the one flaw of the system."

"We need to get them off here." He paces, head spinning with anger and worry. Carole will kill him if he allows anything happen to Finn. He wants nothing more than to find Finn and shake some sense into the damn boy! How can he think that smuggling him and his friend into the enemy's base is a good idea?

"But . . . the mission?"

Burt stops in his tracks, their priorities suddenly realigning in his mind. The same reason that they travelled so far and why the stakes are so high. They cannot leave without their politicians, for he fears the civil unrest that will soon ensue back on their planet, resonating the same chaos throughout the rest of the system.

"You're right," he sighs, "we must go." He turns to the droid, eyes staring at Finn on the screen one last time. His eyes are regretful, but his mission demands his full attention. Besides, he can't protect Finn when he doesn't want to help himself. "BB – 8, find those cells now."

Obediently, the droid begins searching through blueprints of the station, scanning for all and any cells within its walls.

Then, another problem.

With a burst of electricity, he's pushed away from the terminal followed by a puff of smoke. Sam leans down to the small droid, placing a hand on its circular head, "you okay?"

Though shaken, BB – 8 nods and peers up to them while tilting his head.

Burt's heart sinks even further as the terminal now flashes red, the word _locked_ appearing over and over. "They've locked us out of the computer system," he whispers, "They know we're here."

"What are we going to do?"

"It is too late to return to the ship," he confesses, hand clasping tighter around his weapon. "We try or we fail trying. That is the best we can do."

"Senator," Sam starts, voice low and lost. It is rare to hear such emotion from the man, and it makes Burt even more regretful. He reaches out a hand, squeezing Sam's shoulder.

"We've had worse odds before. Now, come on – they know we're here, but they don't know _where_. Let's keep them on their toes and maybe . . . just maybe Finn and Puckerman will do the same."

He just hopes that that's enough to complete their mission.

* * *

"This thing is itchy," Finn complains, his voice muffled.

"Shut up!"

They watch as more guards pass, both playing the part and giving a soft nod. As soon as they're clear, they stand together again and make their plan of attack.

"Let's follow them," he suggests.

Puck hesitates, "are you sure this is a good idea?"

 _No, no he's not._

"We need to save her – if they take her to Sue then who knows what will happen. She's linked to us, Puck. That can only be bad news." He feels guilty that just by associating with them she's been captured by the enemy, those feelings making him more determined. He holds his blaster that little bit tighter, sucking in a deep breath. The mask he wears smells metallic, sickly so, but he pushes that to the back of his mind as make to follow the others.

The base is huge, with an ever winding sight of hallways and rooms, so many that he feels like they're just going in circles. Puck seems to pick up the schematics that little bit quicker, and soon he finds himself in the same spot that Rachel had been not long ago.

His heart beats faster as he knows that she's close, feet picking up speed. "Dude, don't give us away," Puck whispers harshly, his voice muffled by his own masked. Visibly deflating, he slows. Puck is right, which irks Finn to no end, but he knows that getting themselves caught is not going to help Rachel at all.

They reach a cross road in the hallways, suddenly coming to a halt.

"Should we follow them?" Puck asks.

Yet Finn is too busy staring to his left, a strange feeling consuming him. He shakes his head without realizing, legs beginning to carry him in the other direction until Puck takes a strong hold of his upper arm.

" _Where are you going_?"

He blinks, frowning. "I think – I dunno . . ."

"What?"

"This is the way. They took her down here." The certainty in his own voice is kind of scary.

"Are you _sure_?"

Finn nods, suddenly finding himself leading the way. Their footsteps echo around the small hallway, quickening in pace until the door opens and reveals a face that they do _not_ want to see. Finn tenses up as he sees the guard from the village, a sickening smirk playing on her lips. She is alone now, walking with eyes set forward and head held high.

Her lips curve downwards the minute she sees them, something close to a sneer following. "F – N 462. What are you doing down here?" She glances over at Puck, too. "This area is off limits to Cadets, you know this."

He can't see Puck's face, but he's sure that he's mouthing something along the line of _don't do anything stupid._

Finn has never really been one for listening to orders.

Before she has a chance to question any further, he practically dives on the woman. It's payback, he thinks, for all of the guards that she'd launched at him not that long ago. " **What the hell are you doing**?" she screeches, though struggles when Puck jumps in to help him.

He guides them into what appears to be a maintenance closet, using his large body to block the door and her only escape route.

"Get off me, you cretins!" She shakes their hold away, staring around the room as though a caged animal. Disgust stares back at them in her eyes, and she reaches for a blaster that she is no longer holding. When he turns to Puck, he finds his friend wielding the weapon.

She stops struggling, though her chest heaves with rage, and stares at them. "What is the meaning of this? There is no room for insubordination in my squadron, cadets!"

He rips off the helmet, sighing in relief as he can gulp in a breath of fresh air. "We are _not_ your cadets." His eyes are dark and furious, "and you're going to tell us where Rachel is."

"Rachel?" she spits out the name, "I have no idea who that is."

"The girl you just took."

Realization spreads over her face. "Oh. _Her_?" She may be at their mercy right now, but that doesn't stop her from smirking, "her fate belongs to the Empress now."

"And where is that?"

Her tongue dances thoughtfully over her bottom lip. Finn aims his weapon at her, trying to hide the fact that his hands are shaking slightly with inexperience. "What does it matter?" she asks, "you can't save her. You'll never get clearance to enter the Empress' chambers."

"Not unless we use you."

She scoffs, "I would rather die that help Senate scum like you save your little girlfriend. Besides, she probably doesn't have much time." She shrugs unapologetically, "Jesse should have known better than to try and hide someone like her."

Finn pauses, overcome with confusion at her words and when he glances at Puck those feelings appear to be mutual.

Her eyes widen, "oh, I see. Been keeping secrets from you, has she?"

"What are you talking about?"

Now it's Puck's turn to pull the helmet off, annoyance clear. "Finn, she's trying to distract us. We need to go find it ourselves."

"But we need her."

She smiles smugly at that, clearly enjoying being a valuable asset to the pair. That is, until Puck suddenly stares up and points out the vent system to him.

"Not if we're not gonna use the front door," he suddenly grins while she pales.

Finn turns to her, "I'm really sorry about this." And yeah, she is totally their enemy right now, but he really isn't going to enjoy tying her up and just leaving her there.

* * *

Rachel struggles against the restraints that she's found herself in again. The sound of her movement spreads into the dark of the enormous room; one large platform leads to a huge throne. She is placed facing said throne, eyes staring ahead at the blood red metal seat. Behind it, there lies a view of the planet, which lives in just as much blackness as the room surrounding her. In the distance, she can see the galaxy brimming with stars and blissful life, and she wishes for nothing more than to be free somewhere out there.

Movement catches her eyes; Rachel's gaze follows the flowing red gown to its wearer. The woman is tall, proud – her light hair perfectly shaped around her aging face. She stares at Rachel with thoughtful eyes, wrinkles lining the skin around them and that of her tight lips. Despite that, her gaze burns with a youthfulness and fire than unsettles Rachel who lies under the scrutiny.

She only stares back, her own eyes wide and fearful.

Rachel hadn't caught the conversation between this woman and Santana, the guard who had brought her here, yet she fears the worst. Her heart beats wildly, palms sweaty as she anticipates what's to come. The rattling of metal briefly catches her attention, though she struggles to place the noise's exact origin in the darkness.

The woman before her stands, advancing on her with a menacing pace. Rachel blinks as a light switches on above her, blinding the girl momentarily. She pulls at her restraints, wrists painfully sore from the repeated motion. "What is it with all your kids these days?" She asks, "No respect for my property." She scowls, then points to the metal surrounding her hands, "if you break them, I will not hesitate to punch you in the face."

She stops dead in her tracks, frown lines deep in her skin.

"Good, you can listen." She begins to pace around the table where she is lay at an angle, and Rachel strains to keep her eye on her the whole time, "I bet you're wondering why you have the honor of being brought before me, Sue Sylvester."

The name doesn't stir any familiarity, though she doesn't dare say that in front of this woman.

"What do you want from me?" she asks.

"Don't interrupt me," Sue snarls. A moment later Rachel feels a shot of electricity burn through her body, eyes screwing shut in pain. She hears the doors opening and for a moment fears it's the woman who brought her here, but Sue's words show otherwise. "Nice of you to join us, Jesse."

Rachel's eyes shoot open, zoning in straight on the confidence man. When he catches sight of her, however, his jaw locks tight, head twitching to the side nervously. Curious, she watches the exchange between that takes place.

"What do you wish, my Lady?" he asks, head bowing slightly. Rachel doesn't miss the way he continually glances back at her.

She tuts, then storms back to her seat. In one quick move, she whips her dress around her and flounces into it, observing Jesse with barely hidden distain. "I told you I don't trust a man with curly hair," she says, "those sulphurous eggs of betrayal are hatching, St James." She motions to Rachel, "you have a stowaway I see."

"Let me explain."

"Go on," she smiles wickedly, "entertain me."

He scrambles for his words. "Things didn't go exactly to plan . . . but it led me to a realization that there is something different about her." He steps forward, addressing her with a sudden boost of confidence. "So yes, I brought her back without anyone's knowledge, but only with intentions of helping _you_.

"You see, I can sense when there are other's like me – those with rare powers."

She tilts her head, bored. "Are you going somewhere with this?"

Jesse nods, and the words are reluctantly plucked from his lips. "She is force sensitive."

" _What_?" Rachel splutters out, no longer a silent spectator to the exchange.

" _What_?" Sue is suddenly on her feet, nostrils flaring angrily.

* * *

High above them, Finn and Puck watch from their elevated spot through the dusty vent. " _What_?" he whispers out, his body reeling with shock.

* * *

He stares back at Rachel once more, the girl in apparent shock at his words – it's clear that she doesn't quite understand what he means, and he hadn't intended on telling her so soon but with this wrench thrown into his plan it seems appropriate. Besides, she is still untrained, knowing little of her powers or the force. It's not like she can do anything with this information.

She flinches as Sue storms back to her, towering over the small girl with a nasty look. She turns to Jesse with a sneer, "well, at last you are useful." She steps back, " _ **guards**_! Prepare the chamber for an execution!"

"What? No, no," Rachel struggles harder, "please, don't do this!"

"This isn't the right decision," Jesse speaks up, his face grave. He moves to stand between her and Sue, holding his ground, "My lady, you need to reconsider. She is a gift to us."

"Gift?" she scoffs, "she is an ally of Hudson and that makes her the enemy." She glowers at Rachel, "not only that, but she is dangerous."

"But she can use her powers to help you," he states, "just as I have vowed to do."

She suddenly smiles, "wait . . . you have a point. Only – I just need _one_ of you." His eyes widen. "And since you're Schuester's sloppy seconds, I could really do with some fresh meat around here."

Sue sucks in a deep breath, newly exhilarated, "ah, I love the stench of fear."

She clicks her fingers, and he watches as they remove a terrified Rachel from the restraints. They drop her to the floor carelessly but despite her obvious fear she jumps to her feet, puffing out her chest. If only her eyes didn't give her away.

"It's been so long since we've had a good old fashion fight to the death," she grins, moving her head between the pair, "nothing like tradition, eh? How about the most powerful of you two gets to work for me? Interesting, huh?"

"My Lady, you don't have to do this!"

"Scared, St James?"

His mouth tightens, eyes hardening as he stares to the woman that he despises. "No," he spits out.

"Good, then you will have no problem killing her, will you?" At that, Rachel flinches. "But wait, this isn't going to be a fair fight." They both frown in equal confusion as Sue steps back to her thrown, returning with a familiar looking item, "what is a force wielder without their weapon, right Jesse?"

He curses under his breath, mind flashing back to the last time he had been cornered by Rachel and that lightsaber.

Sue stands before her, easily towering the brunette. "If you kill him, you get to live." Rachel takes the weapon unsurely, daring to look back at him.

"But I –"

"You kill him," she repeats, "or he kills you – your choice, ewok."

When Sue turns to Jesse, the same threat lingers toward him.

"And if you don't entertain me . . . I might just kill you both." A sinister glisten hovers in her eyes, sending shivers down Jesse's spine.

He's forced to make a decision, retrieving his own lightsaber from inside his cloak and activating it. He feels the energy cursing through the crystal, moving in and around him. Rachel stares at the weapon, curiosity hidden beneath the dread in her eyes – it quickly vanishes as he advances toward her with determination. She back away with a pale face but isn't fast enough. Raising his lightsaber high in the air, he lunges down at her. It's met with her own blue lightsaber, the two struggling against the one another in an equal battle of wills.

Behind him, he hears Sue laughing and it only fuels his anger.

He raises his lightsaber once more.

* * *

 **Gotta love a cliffhanger :D**

 **Please review!**


	5. Starbase chase

**Time for another update! There are some really good things coming up so get excited!**

 **Please enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 5

Starbase chase

* * *

Rachel dives out of the way of Jesse's lightsaber, wincing as it slices the floor she had just been standing on with the sickening sight of sparks. She sucks in a shaky breath, though doesn't have time to linger as the red weapon makes its way toward her again. This time, she instinctively holds up her own to protect herself.

The two clash together with a loud buzzing, both weapons glowing bright in the vast darkness of the room.

Said light glows in the lines of Jesse's hard face, those determined eyes boring down at her as they hold position for a few moments. It would almost be mesmerising if it wasn't such a dire situation. He pulls his away, jabbing it toward her again. With agility she didn't know she had, Rachel dodges and jumps to the side. He tries again, and then again, until she realizes that he's backing her against a wall.

There is no time for defensive actions, she thinks. She needs to act, even if she fears the worst. She knows that Jesse is stronger, he is trained with his lightsaber and he is taking no prisoners as his attack continues.

But her mind is still reeling from Jesse's words, the revelation that she is force sensitive. No matter how she tries to reason that she couldn't be, that it is illogical, something inside her screams out the truth. As their lightsabers collide once more, she sees her shaking hands and feels the fear in her heart. A darkness is radiating from Jesse, as though a black hole is trying to swallow her up, but her feet stay glued to the ground.

She pushes the dark away, throwing her focus to the way the lightsaber feels in her hands.

It feels . . . _right_.

It's strange, really, how she had feared such an object, how she had dreaded the uncertainty of what it meant.

The crystal glows with life, the same life that she can feel extending through to her and filling her with strength, with an unbeatable confidence. She can do this.

Jesse sends another strike toward her, its after blow reverberating throughout her small body. She stumbles, only slightly, but it gives him the edge. She blocks hit after hit yet she knows that there will come a time where she will miss and it will be all over.

She can't let that happen.

Rachel scrambles for her next course of action, knowing fully well she cannot keep this up. She thinks of Jesse's weaknesses, of how she had resisted his infiltration of her mind. Wait – what if that had been the force?

 _The force_ , she thinks. Her eyes lock with his, if only for a moment, but they are filled with a new determination. Rachel concentrates as best she can in the situation, fully aware that one wrong move and it will all be over. She jumps out of the way of his lightsaber once more, heart beating rapidly when she realizes she is backed up against the cold metal of the wall. _Now is as good a time as any._

Rachel holds back his lightsaber with her own, at the same time using her remaining energy to figure out how the hell she is supposed to use the force. She feels her eyes slowly close, that energy now throbbing in her hands as though ready to be released. She can _feel_ it. It feels as though a part of her, a hidden half that she didn't know had been inside her that's finally awake.

Exhilarated, her eyes burst open with a flash of confidence, and she tugs her lightsaber high in the air, a harsh blow sent towards Jesse. Despite her lesser strength, it knocks him backwards, causing the man to stumble over his plan for a few seconds. He stares back, mouth wide open, and then grounds himself on the floor once more. His eyes stare into her soul, as though he knows exactly what she's just done, and Rachel shifts uncomfortably at the level of exposure she feels.

She can hardly think about that as he persists, swinging his weapon with unbeatable force, his jaw locked tightly as he puts his all into the move. "Now I've got you right where I want you," he says quietly, before his eyes dart around to dare a glance at Sue. She watches with amusement, arms folded neatly across her chest as she observes the fight. Jesse's tongue darts nervously out of his lips, and he sucks in a shaky breath as he prepares to strike one final time.

Rachel braces herself, lightsaber placed protectively in front of her as her only defence. Her eyes scrunch closed, and she waits.

Nothing comes.

She dares to peek an eye open, finding his arms stuck mid-air.

"What are you waiting for?" Sue snarls, raising a hand to put her guards on alert. The Stormtroopers all reach for their weapons.

Jesse's eyes widen, his face burdened. And then he says something that she had _not_ expected. "Get ready to run."

"What?" she splutters out.

"Get. Ready," he punches out each words, his back turned on the Empress.

Then his gaze moves from her, instead eyes focusing on the door lock barely a couple of feet away. His eyes narrow, concentration etched into his features. Rachel can only watch in fascination as the metal shakes as though under great exertion, while instead only under Jesse's dark glower. Before she knows it, the door beside them shoots open and Jesse grabs hold of her.

"St James!" she hears Sue exclaim in shock.

Rachel, just as surprised, struggles against his grip that is locked tightly onto her. He shoves her unceremoniously from the Empress' chamber and into the hallway. "W – what are you doing?" she hisses out in confusion. The door closes behind the pair; all the while she can hear Sue yelling a series of profanities.

" _ **After them, you idiots**_!"

Jesse looks down to her and without another word, the red crystal of his lightsaber surges past her straight through the door control. The sizzling of the circuits crackles in her ears, but she can barely tear her eyes away from Jesse.

"Come on," he says.

She freezes, reluctance clear on her face. This is the man who brought her hear against her will, straight into the arms of a murderous and evil woman such as Sue Sylvester – he is the same man that had tried to _kill_ her not moments ago. Her head is screaming out not to trust him, under any circumstances, but then she can hear the physical screaming of the Empress, the banging of blasters against the thick metal door.

And she quickly decides to go with the lesser of two evils.

* * *

Finn can barely concentrate as he rushes his way through the remaining vents, his head hurting from the countless time he's banged his head against the metal. Oh, and also the fact that _Rachel can use the force._ Or at least, that's what that guy had said. He's pretty sure that he's in a dream now 'cause everything is all kinds of messed up.

Mainly, some guy is trying to kill Rachel with this crazy red laser weapon.

"Come on," he hurries Puck as they reach an exit, twisting within the small space to kick the door through. It takes a few tries until it hurtles off, falling haphazardly onto the floor.

"Way to go on being quiet," Puck grumbles, following him out.

"Puck, we need to find a way into that room before . . . before," he trails off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

Once more, Puck seems to take pity on him, nodding in agreement. "I know, dude – but what exactly is your plan? We can't just barge right in. In case you didn't notice the leader of our enemy was in there – we'll get killed before we even get to Rachel."

He deflates, feeling as helpless as ever.

Then, a lifeline.

" _After them_!" The two dive to the nearest crevice to hide inside, squashed up against one another as a parade of Stormtroopers surge past them, trailed by the same woman who had moments ago pitted Rachel against that man. "I want them both dead – no one escapes from Sue Sylvester!"

Finn waits with baited breath for them to pass, though his pounding heart almost gives them away. When they finally pass, he rushes out of their hiding space and stares at the retreating group. "Did you hear that? They escaped!"

"Yeah, and they've got every damn guard in this place looking for them. Finn, this isn't going to be easy."

As if to emphasise this point, blazing sirens sound out of nowhere, the metallic walls now flashing red as the alarm system triggers. He feels frustration build inside him, wondering how the hell he's going to find her again as she's pursued once more. "Let's just . . . follow the guards that are after them."

"And what if we get hurt, dumbass?"

"Have you got a better plan?" he quips.

"Uh, yeah. How about we save our asses before one of us gets killed?" He throws his hands up in desperation, "I mean, what are we doing, dude? This is dangerous – we don't belong here."

He shakes his head in an instant, refusing to accept his friend's words. "That doesn't mean that we can't do anything to help." Finn sighs, trying to best to find some convincing words as he feels Puck's belief slipping. "And Rachel is our friend, I'm sure she'd do the same for us."

Puck doesn't look convinced but keeps his lips shut.

Finn takes that as an opportunity to voice his thoughts once more, though isn't quite sure where to start. So many truths and revelations are appearing that he thinks his head might explode. He focuses on the most recent one, "and if that guy is right, if she can use the force . . . then we can't leave her here."

"What if he was lying?"

"But why would he?"

He stares. "Um . . . maybe because he's _evil_."

"All the more reason to save Rachel from that creep," he insists.

It becomes a battle of the wills then, the two undertaking a glaring contest in which they try to one up the other.

Finn is not backing down. Aside from wanting to save Rachel because it's the right thing to do, he knows that if Jesse's claims are true then she could be the fourth, and the Senate _needs_ her. He pulls his blaster from the utility belt on his stolen suit and holds it up ready. "You do what you want," he finally says, "I'm going to go help her."

With one final look to his friend, he hurries after the others.

"Finn, come on –"

"Finn . . . _Finn_!"

* * *

Burt peers around the corner one more time, trying to assess their plan of action. He struggles to concentrate with the damn alarms blazing around them, with the added stress of wondering exactly _why_ the alarm has been triggered. He just prays that it has nothing to do with Finn.

"Sir, do you think . . .?" Sam hints at his worst fear.

He has to brush it off, even as the concern lingers. "We have a job to do," he states, "There are three men guarding the cells. They are heavily armed and no doubt expecting us by now – so I think we're gonna struggle to sneak up on them."

Sam peers to him confidently, "we can take three between us."

"What if more arrive?" Burt stares around as though expecting a whole army of Sue's Stormtroopers, "she has hundreds at her disposal."

"Sir, I think they're a little preoccupied," he admits, wincing at the ear-splitting alarms continue to sound.

"Right," he replies tensely.

Burt's frown deepens, and he casts another glance toward the enemy. "You take the two on the right – I'll take our little friend on the left and then BB – 8?" The small droid looks up to him. "You head straight for the control panel and work on opening those cells." He suddenly winces at their noisy surroundings. "And do something about that noise?"

BB – 8 chirps affirmatively, waiting for Burt's command. Waiting a few more seconds, he nods to Sam and the three jump out of their hiding spots and toward the Stormtroopers. They get in a few surprise shots before the three react to the threat. In an instant, they dive behind whatever they can, charging up their own blasters.

Burt jumps as a shot narrowly misses his head, continuing to surge forward despite the wild pumping of his heart. BB – 8 whizzes past him and slides by the control panel while he and Sam keep them busy.

Shots fly every direction, bright sparks shooting all around them as the battle heats up. Burt dips and dives out of the way, sure footed as he leads their small attack. One of the guards goes down with a hit to the chest, while the other two persist.

"Ah!"

Turning, he sees Sam clutching his shoulder, blood slipping between his fingers. "You okay, kid?" he shouts over the sirens.

"Fine," he says through gritted teeth, forced to shoot with his left hand. As a result, the shots become less accurate.

Burt curses their luck, taking a few more steps forward only to be pushed back by the firepower of their opponent. The blazing of the sirens seems to escalate the situation, skewing his focus as a shot misses by mere inches. _Come on Burt_ , he thinks, _the Senate is counting on you._ Another thought jumps to his mind, one that causes more worry. If he doesn't get out of here alive then no one will be there to bring Finn back to Carole. To be quite frank, _that_ thought is the more terrifying one.

Fingers gripping his weapon with ever more determination, he takes out one more guards, and both he and Sam set sights for the final obstacle between them and their mission. Between them, the plasma shots bombard the unlucky guard, who shoots back and slams about the wall with a sickening _crack_.

Burt at least has the decency to wince.

While Sam hurries to check on the droid's progress, he checks each of the guards, ensuring that they won't be a problem. And then, another saving grace. The sirens come to a halt, a deafening silence following. He breathes a sigh of relief.

Burt staggers toward his Captain, eyeing the wound. "That's a nasty one," he comments, ripping a strip from his shirt and helping to tie it tightly around his shoulder. More softly, he adds, "you did good."

With a soft smile, Sam nods, "thank you Sir."

The seriousness of the situation quickly returns, and Burt stares ahead at the rows of cells. Leaving Sam with BB – 8, he hurries between them, "Madame President!" he shouts, peering through each viewing window, and not seeing a familiar face. "Figgins!"

This continues, row after row, until he finally finds the reason that he's here. She looks nothing of the regal woman he works with, her red hair limply falling to the side of the bruised and dirty skin. Her wide eyes are filled with upset yet as she spies him there is a glimmer of hope. "Burt," she whispers out, "is that really you?"

He nods, "you're going to be fine."

* * *

"There are too many of them," Rachel shouts out to Jesse, as she spies yet more Stormtroopers in pursuit of them. The shorter girl struggles to keep up with his quick pace, and he rolls his eyes as he once again has to slow for her.

"Can you keep up?"

She glares at him, and is unable to keep the next words from flowing freely through her lips. "What is going on, Jesse?"

Her stern voice reverberates around the hallway, so much that she sees him visibly wince. "Rachel," he starts. "I –"

"You . . . you kidnapped me and were going to use me as some little pawn in your game."

"Sue wasn't supposed to find out about you," he insists, as though somehow that is going to make it _any_ better.

"Then what was the plan? Because you just almost killed me back there!"

He comes to a sudden halt then, Rachel narrowly missing going straight into his back. Jesse turns, his expression grave as he now faces her. "But I didn't."

"And _why_ ," she emphasises, "didn't you? Whose side are you on here?"

His face twists with disgust, "I'm not on any side." He shakes his head, "there is no good and evil side, Rachel – there are just winners and losers." He suddenly reactivates his lightsaber, swinging it easily around and eliminating the Stormtrooper that bustles up behind her. She stares in shock as the armored guard drops to an unmoving heap in the floor, "and I'm not prepared to lose."

Jesse becomes active once more, now adopting more of a power stride than a run. She still has to jog to maintain his speed, feeling cumbersome as she carries her own lightsaber. "Lose in what?" she demands to know.

"We are at war, Rachel."

She bows her head in confusion. "No . . . we're not – why would you say that?" Despite her words, Rachel's mind jumps back to the visions the lightsaber had given her, of all the death and suffering she had seen. Perhaps there is much more to them than she had originally thought.

He groans in annoyance, pulling at her arm once more and shoving her inside a room. For a moment, Rachel is distracted by security screens covering the adjacent wall before Jesse takes hold of either shoulder. His gaze too grabs hers, refusing to let go. "Listen to me, the Empire, the Senate – they're exactly the same. They will both do whatever they can to get hold of people like us."

Her eyes widen, and she recoils slightly from his touch. "What are you talking about?"

His grip tightens, painfully so. "You're force sensitive, just like me."

"But . . . how do you know that?" She searches his face for the hundreds of answers that she needs to know, though settles for the one he actually gives.

"Back in the village – you resisted me, Rachel. Only another force wielder could do that." He sighs, "I lied to you so that I could bring you here; you're not just some nobody Rachel. You're special."

"Special," she repeats.

He gives a strong nod, "yes, and people will want to use you, just like Sue."

"But she wanted to kill one of us."

"Because she cannot control more than one." He then shrugs, a cocky smile slinking on his lips, "she couldn't even control _one_." She glowers at him, unable to find his arrogance anything other than irritating – this is a much more serious situation! "This isn't how I planned things to go," he admits, "Santana was not supposed to find you."

"Then what _was_ your plan?"

"To teach you, Rachel." His voice softens, "I can show you everything that you need to know about the force."

Her eyes widen with wonder at the thought of this new hope, of finally understanding the events of the past few days. "You can . . . teach me?" she asks, curious. Inwardly, she curses herself for being so easily tempted with his promises, but she can't help it. This new part of her is demanding attention and she fears that if she doesn't learnt to control it the consequences will worse.

Jesse leans impossibly closer, his eyes brimming with ideas and ambitions, and she feels herself drawn into this new world. "I can show you anything you want to know. The force can be used for so many things – together we would be unstoppable."

Unable to help herself, Rachel is quickly lured by his words.

Just as easily as she's swayed one way, a countering wave washes over her. Ambition isn't the only thing that she can see in Jesse's eyes; she knows that other things lurk in his mind. She's _seen_ them. And at that moment her stomach turns uncertainly as she wonders how far the man is willing to go to get what he wants.

Rachel decision is cut short by a banging at the door.

"Come out with your hands up!" the guard shouts.

She whips her head in Jesse's direction, flooded with fear once more. He only smiles, reaching to open the door. "What are you doing?" she says harshly.

"Just watch."

She grabs tightly hold of her lightsaber, ready to attack if need be, though wonders why Jesse doesn't do the same. Her blood runs cold as she wonders whether this had all been some elaborate scheme to trap her in his clutches once more.

There is a lone Stormtrooper waiting outside, blaster perfectly aimed at either pair. She remains baffled as Jesse steps closer to the man, oozing confidence.

"S – Step back and drop your weapons!"

Rachel reluctantly goes to do so, knowing the jig is up, until Jesse grabs her hand. She quickly shakes it off, glaring at him. The man ignores her response and instead holds his free hand up, almost as though in surrender. His words speak nothing of giving up, however, as he waves his hand gently, staring straight at his victim. "You will drop your weapon and walk away as though nothing happened. You never saw us."

She stares in shock as he stiffens, his monotone response sending shivers up her spine. "I will drop my weapon and walk away as though nothing happened. I never saw you." His blasters clatter noisily on the ground, and Jesse bends down with a look of the uttermost smugness as he picks them up.

She lets out a breath of relief. "How . . . how did you do that?"

"I can teach you," he says, adopting a softer tone, "I told you, Rachel, you can be powerful." He smiles.

She can't stop the way she smiles back.

* * *

Puck is torn.

While he knows that staying and fighting is a really dumb idea, he feels like a total douche for bailing on Finn like he did. And yeah, Finn's idea was stupid; he's still his _friend_ though. Puck knows that Finn would do it for him, too, just as he's risking his life for Rachel.

Rachel.

He is still in disbelief about what he'd seen, the rational part of his mind insisting that it's ridiculous. Rachel can't use the force. She's just some prisoner from a planet in the outer rim – how can she do things that people have trained years to do? But why would anyone lie about that, especially to a woman as conniving as Sue Sylvester?

Shaking his head, he tries to steady his thoughts.

It's difficult, however, with the guilt that's swallowing him whole. "I should go back," he mutters, casting a glance over his shoulder. "But no, Finn made his decision."

And yeah, if Finn could see him talking to himself right now he'd have a great laugh. Puck groans in frustration, his feet coming to a halt. He really doesn't know what to do. In his annoyance, he kicks the nearest wall, regretting his decision immediately when the noise echoes loudly throughout the hallways. "Dammit," he curses.

As if karma, the sound of approaching footsteps alerts him, and with some urgency to say the least. Puck glances around in search of a hiding spot only to realize that there are none. Heart sent into a frenzy, he reaches for his blaster and readies the weapon.

To his surprise, the next faces he sees are not of guards, but another familiar sight.

"Burt," he says, "Sam." Peering around them, he spies the three Senators, all looking worse for wear. His main priority is ignore Burt's glower. "Look, I know we were stupid and we shouldn't have come here, but Finn –"

"Finn," Burt frowns, "where is he? Is he okay?"

Puck hesitates, that guilt returning.

"Puck? _Where_ is Finn?"

He hangs his head, "I don't know."

His face is stern, unimpressed, but he notes the way Puck's hands shake. "Come with me, and fill me in. I will find him while you assist Sam with returning the senators and the Madame President our ship safely."

"But Finn –"

"Don't worry, I won't leave this base without him."

* * *

Jesse feels unbeatable as he leads Rachel through the base, quickly and efficiently on the way to the escape pod that Shelby has waiting. In all honesty, this couldn't have worked out better. With Sue's bloodthirsty behaviour forcing Rachel to trust him, he's saved weeks of hard work and has his prize willing to join him. Okay, so he might have screwed his cover with the Empress, but trading that off for another force wielder? It's a no brainer.

He can train her the way she ought to be trained and avoid the garbage that the untalented Will Schuester would no doubt throw at her.

"Not far now," he tells her, the pair jumping against the wall as they see more Stormtroopers. He waits a few seconds just to be safe, then leads her around the corner.

Jesse nearly jumps out of his skin as he is inches away from bumping into another lurking figure. "Whoa!" He jumps back, lifting his lightsaber in defence as the burly man stares at them. He sucks in a breath of shock when he realizes he is staring into a familiar, yet aged face.

"Senator Hummel," he speaks, cursing himself for still using the formal name of a man he no longer respects. Old habits, he guesses.

The man stares back as though he's seen a ghost. "Jesse," he whispers. His eyes flash to Rachel and then back to him, "what are you doing here . . . you work for Sue?"

"No," he vehemently shakes his head, "I don't." His eyes intensify as he speaks, "I work for myself, Burt. You know that."

If anything, Burt continues to look disappointed. To his surprise, the man makes no effort to use his weapon on Jesse, instead only watching the pair with curious eyes. He finally gives a humourless laugh, "of course, how could I forget? Now, if you'll excuse me."

He makes to walk away, but Jesse's reflexes are faster and he holds the lightsaber to Burt's neck in an instant, watching the way the veins thicken under the skin. "I don't think so, Burt."

To his credit, he remains calm. "Jesse, what is killing me going to prove?"

"That I was right all along."

The way his eyes meet Jesse's has the younger man suddenly feeling less confident, but he shakes away his doubts, even as Burt speaks in a low voice, "do you really believe that?"

"I do." He gulps, lips tightening, "I always have."

Burt is silent, though his eyes remain cautious on the weapon held inches away from him. "You haven't asked why I'm here."

"I know why you're here." He peers around the man through is curious to see no one with him, "the politicians, you have them?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" he spits out, distaste sunken into his features, before it all suddenly clicks into place, "you're looking for someone else." Burt's mouth twitches in an obvious tell, and Jesse suddenly smiles, "your step son – he's here."

"You think I'd allow Finn to come on such a sensitive mission?" He scoffs yet his words are no longer as convincing. Behind him, Jesse hears Rachel lightly gasp at the mention of Finn's name, his blood boiling in a matter of seconds at her reaction.

She inches closer, a hand delicately wrapping around the arm which holds his weapon. "Jesse," she says, "if Finn is here –"

He snaps back in an instant, "Finn is none of my concern." She suddenly looks very torn, and he fears that she will abandon his side to favor a search party of her own. "Come on," he says, deactivating his weapon, "we don't have much time." Rachel pulls away her hand as he reaches for it though still moves to follow him, even as Burt calls after the pair. His stride is harder now, irritation seeping into his bones at the confrontation moments ago.

"We can't just leave them here!" Rachel suddenly exclaims, "It's too dangerous."

"Rachel," he warns.

She narrows her eyes, "they are my friends."

"They will use you, just like everyone else."

A scowl appears on her lips. "How can you be so heartless? They could die here."

"It is not my problem."

"Well, it's _mine_."

Jesse's teeth clench tightly together, his plan suddenly falling apart before his eyes, and he really hates to have to do this again but he needs Rachel. Lifting a hand, he lets it linger not far from her head. "No!" she shouts as she realizes what he's about to do. Jesse doesn't allow her the chance to react any further. Waving his hand, he puts her to sleep once more. Her lightsaber clatters to the ground, but he manages to catch her before she does so herself.

He tucks her weapon into his belt, and then effortlessly slings her over his shoulder.

* * *

Finn has no idea what he's doing.

Now without the support of his friend, the danger is all too real. He'd tailed the guards for a while before realizing they were no wiser than he was about Rachel's whereabouts. That just about sends him into a frenzy. _Where is she?_ For a moment, he fears that she didn't win the one on one fight with Sue's henchman. Finn has to physically shove that thought from his mind.

"She is gonna be fine," he mutters under his breath, an attempt to calm his jittery nerves.

He repeats this again and again until it kind of feels like it's true. Almost.

Flush against the wall as he moves, he peers around another corner and almost jumps for joy when he sees just who he's looking for. Only . . . only she isn't moving, slung over the shoulder of that asshole Jesse. Just the sight makes his eyes burn red, his blood boil as though the inside of a volcano. The pair are with another woman, who seems more preoccupied in setting up the escape pod they stand beside. Many questions whiz through his mind yet the most important is where the hell they plan on taking Rachel.

Any rational thought jumps out of his mind as she is placed inside the pod, her arms limply falling next to her. As Finn stares at her vacant frown, he silently calls out for her to wake up, disappointed when she doesn't.

He doesn't have time to think about anything else as he dives out of his hiding spot and points the blaster straight at Rachel's captor. "Let her go!" he yells, hands visibly shaking with anger.

Both their heads snap up, a mixture of shock and anger. He notes the way that the man's jaw tightens, the white on his knuckles growing. "Finn," he breathes out, voice low.

"Let Rachel go," he repeats his demand, ignoring the fact that this guy knows who he is.

"Jesse," the woman starts, her voice more careful than that of his.

Jesse's head snaps back toward her, determination filling his face. "Stay with Rachel. I've got a problem to deal with."

"We don't have to fight," he tries desperately as he sees Jesse going for his weapon, "Just give me Rachel back and we can forget about all this."

"And why," he suddenly smiles, "would I give her back?"

"Because she is not yours!"

He quirks his brow, "and she's _yours_ , is she?"

Finn looks down briefly, before bringing his defiant eyes back up to meet Jesse's amused expression. "She's my friend and you're not taking her."

Jesse begins to laugh, as though he's just told a great joke. But Finn is deadly serious, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to bring Rachel back. His face goes pale, however, as Jesse activates his weapon. It glows as red as blood, a sinister weapon belonging to an equally sinister man. Suddenly Finn's blaster feels extremely inadequate. Still, he clutches onto his weapon with great strength, hoping that it just might be his savior.

Swinging his weapon back and forth in a deadly display, Jesse smirks. "I'm really going to enjoy this." Raising the hood on his cloak, he adopts a more menacing appearance, the back contrasting harshly against the red of his weapon. He advances on Finn, who shoots calculated blast after blast, but the crystal of Jesse's weapon blocks each other with ease.

Before he's forced to flee, he tries one last desperate attempt – he aims near where Rachel's motionless body is and shoots as many shots as he can. With any hope, he can wake her up so she can escape their clutches.

As for him? He should probably run.

He backs up, staring between an advancing Jesse and his weapon the entire time. Finn winces as in one impressive move it slices clean through the wall where he'd been, only a few sparks blasting out.

"Crap," he mutters, flooded with terror.

Without a second thought, Finn turns on his heel and runs.

* * *

Rachel is calm.

The familiar sight of the ocean brings a serenity washing over her. The cold winds whips her hair wildly around her face, and her eyes squint as she stares up at the blinding sun. The water crashes over the jagged rock face, forcing the birds to flee for cover.

But she remains, enjoying the feeling of freedom that it brings her.

It doesn't last for long.

She can sense a change in the winds, bringing a brewing storm from across the harsh sea, while even the surface she stands on feels unsteady, unsure.

The balance is wrong.

The balance between what? She doesn't know, yet she can feel the looming darkness and it chills her to her very core. Aptly, the dark clouds bring the beginning of rain, so fine but at the same time blinding.

Rachel is soaked within minutes, her tranquillity a distance memory. She runs inside the large hilltop cave to take refuge from the oncoming weather, shaking off her soaked hair. Inside, the only sound is that of falling droplets into the shallow puddles. Rachel steps further in, arms wrapped around her slender frame.

She stops.

She turns.

Her eyes glue to the large hole in the bottom of the cave, filled with nothing but blackness. Rachel feels her feet carrying her in its direction, curiosity growing at the sight of it.

She's never seen that before.

The girl bends down, carefully, just at the side of its crumbling walls. She peers in.

Nothing.

"H – hello." She calls down, not quite sure why.

It's as though there is something inside, reaching out for her – a magnetic force that just keeps on pulling. Despite her fears, she has the strongest urge to go inside it. But with no sign of life emitting from inside, she hesitates.

Why does the darkness call her so?

She leans in once more, eyes straining to see and failing. Her fingers clutch to the collapsing rock edge, inching as close as she can until she teeters precariously over the hole.

Then, without warning, a loud bang explodes all around her, sparks somehow flying from nowhere.

Rachel wakes with a start, eyes thrown open and forced to make sense of their surroundings. She's lay on the floor in a small escape pod, the transmitter beside her on fire and clearly damaged. She peers around, her jumping as she sees Finn running, a cloaked figure in pursuit with his red lightsaber.

With a low gasp, she realizes that she's seen this before – in her own visions at the village. But, unable to dwell on the visions, she focusses on her a more pressing problem. Where is she? And how is she going to escape Jesse's clutches?

She shakily pulls herself into the sitting position, eyes zoning in on Shelby who is typing in flight co – ordinates.

 _I need to help Finn_ , she thinks, her chocolate eyes hard and determined.

She struggles to throw together a plan, knowing full well that unarmed she cannot take on this woman. But _wait_ – she's not unarmed. Her stomach bursts with nerves at the thought of trying to use the force, yet it may be her only option. If Jesse can do it, then why can't she.

And so she dares to try, tongue darting out to lick her lips nervously.

Rachel slowly move to stand, keeping her movements as quiet as possible as to not alert her captor. She steps closer and closer, though inwardly curses as her foot catches on a fallen panel, alerting Shelby to her actions.

She whips her head around, staring at her angrily. All too quickly the woman reaches for her blaster and points it straight at Rachel.

Well, it's now or never.

With all the surety she has, she locks hold of Shelby's eyes. "You will drop your weapon and leave."

Her lips break into a smirk. "Are you serious right now?"

She feels herself flooded with disappointment and embarrassment, cheeks growing pink. Wait, _no_. Locking her jaw, she now grows with fortitude. After all, Finn's life depends on her actions and she is not going to lose him now that she has him back.

"You will drop your weapon and leave," she commands.

Shelby laughs once more, "don't be so stupid, Rachel. You cannot seriously think that –"

This time, she calls out to the force, allowing it to surge through her body. " _You will drop your weapon and leave_." The calmness to her voice shocks Rachel, but she is even more shocked when Shelby suddenly adopts an empty expression, standing upright.

"I will drop my weapon and leave."

Rachel stares as the blaster slips from her hands, and she turns around without so much as another word. Her expression is one of pure amazement, mouth hanging open in shock. Forehead wrinkled in confusion, Rachel tries to figure out how on earth she managed to do that. Maybe Jesse was right . . . maybe she can use the force.

Maybe she _is_ special.

The moment passes, and she has more important matters at hand. She searches her belt for her lightsaber, stomach plummeting when she realizes she no longer has it. It doesn't take long to assume that Jesse took it from her, causing a small rage to fill to girl.

 _Finn,_ she suddenly remembers, hurrying into a sprint after him and Jesse.

* * *

Finn feels sweat building on his forehead as he continues running away from Jesse, wincing every time strikes for him. He's not yet close enough to hit, but he's leaving some pretty nasty damage on the ship. He turns once more, shooting as much as he can. To his despair the blasting is starting to run out of juice – it really isn't looking good for him.

"Running is useless," Jesse shouts to him, "you're a dead man, Hudson."

The threat lingers dangerously in the air, and for a moment Finn really believes him.

Then he lucks out.

He _hits_ Jesse.

The blue surge of plasma strikes right into his waist, and to Finn's surprise something falls to the floor loudly between them. Looking closer, he realizes that it's the same weapon that Rachel had used before. The same weapon that Jesse uses against him now - with it this battle would be fair. This is totally the break the he needs, his feet skidding to a halt before he rushes for the weapon. Jesse's eyes widen as he notices, recovering quickly to join Finn in the chase.

It continues to roll until it lulls slowly to a stop; Finn is unable to keep his eyes from it, purpose filling his every moment as he hurries forward.

Suddenly it starts to shake. The movement is slow at first but quickens as the item fills with energy. He watches, mesmerised, and dares to cast a look at Jesse.

Having realized that Finn would reach the weapon first, Jesse had reacted. Finn's heart sinks as he Jesse's outstretched hands seems to have some pull on the weapon. He continues to run, but he it moves further away from him with each passing second. Jesse has well and truly won.

The weapon is suddenly airborne, spinning wildly as it returns to Jesse's grasp.

Only, it doesn't go to Jesse.

It continues to whiz throw the air, both men's eyes glued to its trajectory.

It flies straight past Jesse, right into the outstretched hand of Rachel.

He suddenly feels breathless at the sight of her, a lopsided smile jumping to his lips. "Rachel." Her name jumps from his lips, relieved to see the girl and know that she's okay. She looks from him back to the weapon that she'd somehow summoned, her expression of a mixture of shock and pride, which explains the way she smiles too.

Finn is so transfixed on Rachel that he doesn't see the way Jesse rushes toward him angrily until it's too late. He reacts last minute as Jesse's weapon jabs through the air, moving just enough to avoid it diving straight throw his side. Instead, the red crystal cuts through his upper leg, a searing pain following.

He cries out in pain as Jesse cries out in frustration.

Landing to the floor in a heap, Finn's trembling hands hold his injured leg where the crystal has sliced easily through, cauterizing the wound simultaneously.

Rachel screams out his name, setting off into her own sprint. He can barely focus on that as his leg calls out in agony, sickness washing over him when he spies the gaping hole in his leg. He tries to ignore the dizzy spots that obscure his view suddenly. Jesse stands over him, clearly enjoying the way Finn writhes on the floor. Rachel won't make it in time, Finn knows, and he scrambles to find something, anything that will protect him from the next inevitable blow.

And then Jesse is completely taken down.

A raging Burt is suddenly on top of the fallen man, punching and punching until Jesse's head lolls to the side lifelessly.

"Burt!" he calls out in relief.

Rachel too rushes to stop just before them, lowering her lightsaber as she stares at Burt in shock. He narrows his eyes at the girl, quickly jumping to grab hold of her arms and pull them behind her back while tugging away her lightsaber. " _Hey_!" she glares, "what the hell are you doing?"

Finn struggles to lift himself, ignoring the pain as he falls on his injured leg. "Burt, stop – _stop_!"

"She is a cohort of Jesse St James." His voice is stern, unforgiving, "she will be imprisoned alongside our friend here." He gestures to the unconscious Jesse.

"No," Finn insists, eyes meeting that of his terrified friend, "he kidnapped her, Burt. She's the person who saved us from New Oh – io5."

Burt pauses in his movement, leaving a wincing Rachel as she stands uncomfortably with her arms tied behind her back. She stares up at his step dad, "I would never do anything to hurt Finn." Her voice goes quieter as she says, "he's my friend."

"He _is_ hurt," Burt points out.

"Because of him," Finn insists, "this isn't Rachel's fault. Take the restraints off."

Staring back and forth between them, Finn fears for a moment that Burt will not change him mind but he eventually gives a defeated sigh. "I am trusting you here, Finn," he warns, moving to undo Rachel's restraints.

Not surprisingly, she isn't impressed with him, and rushes straight to Finn without so much as a thank you. "Finn," she breathes, "oh my god, are you okay?" Her hand lingers over his injured leg, too afraid to touch it.

"I'll be fine."

She stares at him in bewilderment, but all Finn can focus on is how happy he is to be with her again. The way her hand supports his back gives him goosebumps, and for a moment he isn't it any pain at all. Maybe Puck is right – maybe he is in too deep with this girl. Peering up at her, he feels his heart swell at the concern in her eyes, watching her plump lips as she speaks.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Rescue mission," he says, "saving our president from this awful place. I guess I just got lucky that you were here too, huh?"

Her lips spread into a smile again and before he knows it he's pulled into a tight hug, "thank you." He feels dizzy but he isn't sure if it's because of how close Rachel is or because his leg is all kinds of messed up. Seconds later he sways slightly, the pain surging back. As he winces, Rachel frowns alongside him.

"We need to get you medical attention," Burt insists, serious as ever. He turns to Rachel, having no option but to rely on her, "can you help him walk?" She nods quickly.

With that, Burt confiscates Jesse's weapon too and moves over to lift the unconscious man. "We need a ship."

"There's an escape pod," Finn says, voice strained as he leans again Rachel. She's definitely not tall enough to fully support him buts he tries her hardest, one arm wrapped fully around his back. "Not too far from here. Jesse was going to use it to escape." Anger flashes through him again as he thinks that he could have escaped by now with Rachel as his prisoner. How the tables have turned.

"Do you know where it is?" The pair both nod. Burt sighs, "alright then, let's get off this damned base."

Finn couldn't think of anything better than that, letting Rachel lead his limping body toward the ship. All three are on high alert knowing that Sue is still at large, yet Finn struggles to keep that his biggest worry.

He continues glancing at Rachel, thinking back to what she'd done. The same thing that he's seen before, in his brother – in Quinn and Mercedes, too.

She had used the force.

From her expression, she too seems to be encompassed by the whole situation, unable to understand her new world.

* * *

 **Hope you're enjoying it! Lots more finchel is coming up next chapter. Please review :)**


	6. Home at last

**Hello to whoever is still out there! As per my life has been crazy busy in the past few months (I got a new job, yay) but I cannot leave a project unfinished and I do intend to finish this one. This chapter is slightly longer than the others have been, but I hope whoever is still out there enjoys it :)**

* * *

"GONE?!"

Santana winces at Sue's voice, shuddering at the way she still sounds completely calm and in control despite the current situation. For once, the girl is silent. She hesitates with her answer, not entirely sure how to respond.

Sue grows tiresome, the tyrant pacing back and forth like a caged animal, red cape billowing around her dramatically. "When I get my hands on that curly haired little runt, I will strangely him _myself_." Her teeth grind together in a splitting scowl, eyes darkened and skin wrinkled. The woman continues to seethe, "how could this happen, Santana?"

"Well, I think it started when you pitted two force wielders to –"

" _Enough_!"

Now it's Santana's turn to flood with anger at being cut over so rapidly. "I warned you about Jesse, I said that he could not be trusted."

"And I knew that!"

Those words bring Santana to a dumbfound halt, doing a double take at her leader as though she'd heard her incorrectly. Sue's stubborn expression says otherwise. "You knew?" she dares to ask.

"Of course I knew about him." Her steps slow, and she comes to a stationary point in the middle of the throne room where she is surrounded by the chaos and destruction left behind by the force wielders. Lights flicker nervously on an off, with sporadic puffs of smoke appearing from the blazing walls. "He has long been corrupted by the likes of Will Schuester and his own selfish agenda of revenge to fully give himself to me."

She bites her lip, silent. It's a struggle to quite grasp the last few hours, _particularly_ this piece of news. "Then why did you keep him around?"

"He was useful, in spite of everything."

Santana scoffs.

"Was it not he who found this new force wielder?"

Again, silence. More from annoyance that it wasn't _her_ who found the girl. Her hatred for the force sensitive burns as strong as ever, and the Empress seethes knowing that not one but _two_ have evaded her grasp. _Damn that St James kid!_

She forces the conversation in another direction, one that brings a sinister smile upon her cracked and dry lips. "This is what we need, Santana. With all of the four force wielders in our sights, we can easily take down the Crusader system." Her eyes sparkle with terrible delight, "think of all the carnage we can cause, how we can finally give Will Schuester exactly what is coming to him."

She smiles along with her Lady, wickedly so. For a brief moment, it falters. "But if this girl is the fourth, how are we to defeat them?"

"She is untrained," Sue goes on, "the girl I saw was nothing more than a swamp rat who has been told she's special – she has no idea what a force wielder can do. What she can do. Besides, I have my spies in the Senate. They grow lazy, complacent . . . led by fools. It is too late for them now." She suddenly stands, her stance filled with urgency and pride, "it is finally time, I have been waiting months to unfold my new weapon and today has given me the perfect opportunity."

Curiously, she tilts her head to the side, "new weapon?"

"You see, others before me have tried conquering the universe in different ways. With fear, with destruction." She grins, "Now I love both of those things, but I do think we need to have our unique spin on things."

Santana waits eagerly for her to continue.

"Where have others failed before us?"

The girl pauses, thinking. "They could never defeat the force wielders."

"That's right," Sue enthuses, a scowl growing proudly on her lips, "they are the root of our problems. They give people hope – it makes me sick. But what if . . . what if we turn the people against them?"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" She asks with no effort to hide her doubt.

The way that Sue's face darkens with a sinister kind of glee has Santana waiting on baited breath. Just what does her leader have hidden away? And why has she waited until now to unleash it? For once, she feels concern in the back of her mind as to whether their plans of conquering the crusader system will be as they imagined. For one, no one had anticipated the appearance of this girl. Santana scowls at the thought of that little runt who'd escaped their clutches.

But not for long.

Just like Jesse, the girl will suffer a gruesome fate when she gets her hands on her. She smirks; now she has the Empress' blessing and it is going to be a satisfying moment when she finally ends both force wielders.

The Empress allows a long pause, building the anticipation within the room. Her hollow eyes stare back at Santana, lips curving into a wicked smile. "There is an island."

"There are lots of islands," she rolls her eyes.

"Shut up!"

She purses her lips together in annoyance, but remains quiet nonetheless.

"On Ahch – To, there is a small island. Hidden away - I have only just become aware of its existence."

"And what is so special about it?"

Beginning her slow paces once more, the Empress casts her gaze aside and stares out through the observation deck. The galaxy looks back to her, almost cowering beneath her cruel gaze, as though an ant beneath a kid's magnifying glass. She beckons Santana to stand next to her, then neatly folds her hands behind her back. "For as long as there have been force wielders, there have been those who have tried to figure out exactly where they get this skill. Why do they and only _they_ get to control the world through the force?"

Santana tilts her head inquisitively, eyes following the path of her leader. She feels herself fill with despise for a world that never accepted her, quickly bowing her head when Sue looks to her. "I don't know," she answers simply.

"There are stronger people who could use it. Not like these . . . _babies_ and _idiots_! You can't expect children to know how to control the universe – just look at this swamp scum. She destroyed my ship, and you bet that she's going to pay for it." She seethes, her fists now clenching tightly, so much that the whites on her already pale knuckles show through.

"What has this island got to do with any of that?" Santana questions.

"It is believed that this is where the force originates, where it is at its strongest."

Her eyes widen in surprise yet she otherwise tries to keep her expression neutral. "That's all well and good, but neither of us are force wielders."

" _Not yet_."

Now it is impossible to keep the shock from spreading across her features. "What do you mean?"

"I have a machine," she starts, "we can use it to harness the power of the force."

"Use the force ourselves?" Santana whispers back, the disbelief evident.

"Yes. First, we need to find the island. Then when we have the force on our side we can use it not only for destruction, but to turn the citizens against the Senate and the entire Crusader system. We can begin a war while we stand back and watch." The sheer glee at her plan has her snickering alongside her worlds, almost giddy with excitement. It is a shock to see her leader so elated, so much so that Santana can't help but join in.

Suddenly they feel back on track again, a new plan urging them forward.

The Empress, in a moment of caution, adopts other ideas. "Now Santana, you are the only one I will tell of this plan. It is too risky otherwise. Hundreds of people want nothing more than to get their hands on this power." Santana nods in understanding. "I want you to go to the island, find the source and when you do report straight back to me." She swells with pride knowing that she is the trusted advisor of the Empress, straightening her posture and raising her chin strongly.

"What are you going to do?"

It is time for her to grin again. "Create a diversion," she sneers.

* * *

Finn stares at the newly healed wound on his leg, staring in amazement at how the medic has managed such a clean job. It's as though nothing ever happened to him, but he definitely won't be forgetting this day any time soon.

Speaking of which, Rachel sits beside him, hands placed neatly on her lap and face deep in thought. She hasn't left his side since they found their way back onto the Senate cruiser. He'd like to think that it's because she doesn't want to leave him, however he worries that it's something else. Burt's almost arrest of the girl seems to have shook her, and he's sure that remaining with him keeps her worries at bay.

To his embarrassment, she suddenly notices the way he's staring at her. Pink flooding his cheeks, he throws his gaze down, awkwardly laughing.

Rachel only smiles, before giving a long, wistful sigh. "I'm glad all that is over," she says, playing with the hem of her shirt, "I was really scared back there."

"You? Scared?" His eyes widen, "Rach, you were awesome back there! That lightsaber thing you did was crazy!"

She beams back, allowing herself to have a moment of pride. With a shrug, she says, "I guess it was kind of cool . . ." The almost smile turns into a certain frown as her reality seems to sink in, "but I – _ugh_ , I just don't know what this means." She struggles with her thoughts for a few moments, "I don't know what to do with this new . . . new _thing_."

Finn nods, "yeah, it's crazy, huh? But it's also kind of cool. I mean, do you know how many people wish that they could be a force wielder?" His shoulders slump just the smallest bit, "I know that I would love to do that."

"You really think that . . . I can use the force?" Her eyes beg for affirmation from him.

"Rach, you moved the lightsaber with your mind!" he grins giddily, "You should have seen Jesse's face."

Her lips suddenly dive downwards into a frown, "but you got hurt because of that."

"I'm fine now."

". . . And at least Jesse is in the Senate's custody," she adds, "where he can't hurt anyone else." Rachel worries her lower lip, those tentative eyes returning once more as she's clearly clouded by more troubling thoughts.

He reaches out a hand to gently take hold of hers, squeezing it softly. "He can't do anything to you now Rach."

She shakes her head, "it's not that."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Your step dad almost arrested me too – he thought that I was one of the bad guys." She slumps in her seat, defeated, "no one ever trusts me no matter where I go." Rachel pulls her hand away, "I guess I should be used to that by now."

"He just jumped to conclusions," Finn explains, "You're not a prisoner here, Rach."

Her eyes are wide as a moon as she smiles back at him, clearly wanting to believe his words. She lets out a huff, "I'm sorry for getting all philosophical." Finn totally pretends to know what that word means. "I guess it's been a crazy few days and so many things have changed . . . I'm struggling to see where I fit in the grand scheme of things."

He nods along in understanding; Finn knows a thing or two about not fitting in, despite what people might think.

"I'm sure they'll let you train with the other force wielders – I mean, you might be the missing piece of the prophecy. With you, Sue doesn't stand a chance."

" _Sue_ ," she says the name with distaste, "I never want to see that woman again in my life."

"Me either," he gives a soft laugh, "she is sure something."

Rachel grows quiet again, that concentration etched onto her strong features. He is drawn in, his own curiosity pulling words from his lips. "Are you okay?" She blinks, having momentarily been lost in her own mind.

He asks again, this time with a comforting smile.

"Does your brother . . . see things, too?" she asks, fear hidden behind her words. He notes how she's hugging herself with one arm, body stiff.

"What do you mean?"

She shakes her head, disbelieving. "Can he see the future?"

"No." His eyes narrow in confusion, "why?"

That is clearly not the answer that she's looking for and she lets out a forlorn sigh, appearing even more perplexed than moments ago. Finn can't help but admire the way her nose scrunches up adorably. "Please don't tell anyone this," she squeaks out, voice strained, "but when I first found the lightsaber . . . back at the village." Finn nods along with her words, leaning closer. "I saw things." She mouth tightens, frowning, "I saw awful things – but you and Jesse back on the star base, I saw that too. Him chasing you with the lightsaber, it was clear as it was today." She suddenly stops, unsure, "I don't know how I saw it before it happened, but I did."

He sucks in a deep breath, her claim having hit him with another bombshell. "And what? You think those other things might come true?"

Rachel gives a shaky nod, trying to hide the tears that grow in her eyes.

"What . . . what did you see?"

"Terrible things," she confesses, "and Sue – she was killing people. Hundreds of innocent people."

"Are you serious?"

She gives a regrettable nod, her tiny body trembling with the awful thoughts. Finn dares to take her hand again, thankful when this time she doesn't pull away. "All the more reason for you to join the others," he says, "so that you can stop her before she hurts anyone else."

Rachel doesn't talk for a few minutes, mind elsewhere and expression empty. Finn just hopes that the feel of his touch somehow keeps her grounded. Eventually, she dares to speak again, "I'm really scared, Finn."

He panics, 'cause he totally doesn't wanna make her feel worse but he doesn't wanna lie either. Everything _is_ kind of scary right now. "Me too," he finally admits, "as long as we have each other's backs, we'll be fine. I promise."

"Are you sure?"

Finn nods, then squeezes her small hand.

"Thank you, Finn." She adopts a more serious expression, "for everything. Who know where I could have ended up if you hadn't helped? With Jesse of all people."

He fills with pride at her words, knowing that getting his leg sliced open was definitely worth having Rachel here right now. "You don't need to thank me," he insists, then leaves a long pause. "I think today has proven that you're way too awesome for the likes of me." A short laugh follows, "and for the record, I'm really glad that you're back." Finn shifts in his seat, mouth twisting nervously around his next few works, "you're really great, Rach. I'm happy that you're coming back with us."

"Really?"

The way her eyes light up and sparkle before him is reward enough. He gives a lopsided smile, a certain giddiness taking over him, "yeah . . . I dunno – everything feels kind of better when you're around. Even if it has been a crazy few days."

She beams, her hold tightening on his fingers. "I feel that way too," she admits. Rachel's smile widens, "it's almost as though – well . . ."

"Go on," he encourages softly.

"Like all this was meant to happen." She tilts her head nervously, pausing. "Does that sound stupid?"

Finn doesn't skip a beat. "Not at all."

Rachel is quiet then, which is all kinds of weird for her. He isn't the smartest guy, but he knows that when she's like this that her mind is working overtime. He can feel her eyes on him, the boy suddenly vulnerable under her watch. Finn wants spill his soul out before her and tell her everything – his wants, his desires. He wants to tell her that he's scared, too – no, _terrified_. If she asked him anything right now, he'd probably relent under her soft gaze. Opening his mouth, he dares to speak another truth that has been hidden from her since they met, the fact that he'd seen her in his dreams long before they'd met.

A pair of soft lips gently brush over his own before he can speak. His heart just about spasms in his chest at the fleeting moment, sighing as it's over all too quickly.

He suddenly feels a vast absence inside of him as she pulls away, his lips now cold and longing. When his eyes blink open, he finds Rachel staring back. She appears shocked at her own actions, yet wears a knowing, nervous smile. Finn smiles, too. He struggles to find his breath, as though Rachel had pulled it away with her.

"I'm sorry," she shakes her head as words fail him. Rachel's eyes begin to fill with panic. "I shouldn't have done that." Hand tugging away from his, she moves to stand up.

"Rach."

She hesitates, but eventually gives pause and crosses her arms as she stares back down at him. Her lower lip wavers with unsaid words, while she nervously awaits his own. As usual his brain fails him and his mouth opens and closes dumbly like a burra fish. His heart practically plummets as he sees upset spread across her soft features.

Her frown deepens, "I don't know what came over me – I'm not normally like this. It's just . . ." Rachel can't find the right words, voice fading into nothingness. Her brows scrunch together with confusion, with uncertainty, and Finn totally gets that.

He really has no idea how to pinpoint any of his feelings right now, _especially_ when it comes to Rachel.

"I'm gonna go," she decides with an affirmative nod. "Clear my head." She points to the door, and manages a small smile. "I suppose I should enjoy the view on my view real intergalactic flight."

Finn's lips tug upwards, the man nodding. "Yeah," he says with his crooked smile, "it's not a bad sight. I guess we're not far from home. Then we can put all this behind us."

Even as he speaks, he can hardly bring himself to believe his own words. If Rachel's expression is anything to go by, she doesn't seem that convinced either. The pit of his stomach quakes with unease – he is almost certain that it isn't the last they have seen of Sue Sylvester.

* * *

Rachel taps her hands nervously when they finally make their way into the Capitol building, which stands before her in the most intimidating manner. Its grey and bleak appearance does nothing to settle her stomach, but she attempts to steady herself nonetheless. Besides, Finn is beside her, an ever present support system. BB – 8, too; she thinks the little unit likes her, more so than Noah, anyway.

She tries to keep the kiss to the back of her mind as Finn walks dangerously close to her, his arm occasionally grazing ever so gently on hers. She bites her lip, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of regret.

 _He didn't say anything._

Those had been the longest few seconds of her life. She vividly relives the tense moments where she'd waited for him to only _stare_ at her. Her heart clenches tightly at the thought, and she shakes her head to rid it from her mind. Instead, she focuses on Noah as he begins to veer away from the pair. With a nod in their direction followed by a charming smirk, he heads off down one of the many hallways of the building.

"Say hi to Quinn for me," Finn says with a knowing look.

"Quinn?" she asks, tilting her head as her lips curve downwards ever so slightly. The name rings a bell, but she can't quite place it.

He brushes a hand through his tussled hair, looking away as though he just realized he's given away too much. "One of our friends," he quickly affirms, "He's known her for years."

Rachel nods, feigning a full understanding.

Once more, her eyes begin to wander, taking in the sheer scale of the building she's in. The craftsmanship is incredible, with ornate indoor fountains to huge sun spots in the ceiling. These bathe the stark white floor in orange sunlight, warming the room with its hue. She smiles – the interior allows her to be at ease.

For all of a few minutes, at least.

"Oh crap."

Finn suddenly pales.

She throws her glance around nervously, eyes wide. "What's wrong?" He steps slightly closer to her, as though her small frame will protect him.

"My mom," he whispers in the loudest whisper she's ever heard, "she's gonna be pissed." Face strained, his frown deepens, "like, _super_ pissed. So pissed that I might not see daylight for a good few months."

Although he may be exaggerating, he seems fully convinced of his ill fate, lowering himself as much as possible to remain hidden. Not so easy when you're his height, she thinks. Then she finally seems the reason for his fear as a woman storms toward him, her brows fused together in anger, lines moving deep into her skin as she remains concentrated on him.

Rachel feels herself step back to ensure her own safety before the woman makes it within a few feet.

Maybe Finn _wasn't_ exaggerating.

"I can expla –" He starts, but is abruptly sent to a halt as she wraps her arms tightly around the boy, smothering his face with kiss after kiss.

"You're back," she breathes out, sheer relief spreading out across her features now. Finn visibly relaxes though still remains cautious, eyes darting about nervously.

"Yeah."

His mother refuses to let go of his broad frame, "If you ever do that again there will be consequences, young man. I _mean_ it – do you know how worried I've been!?"

He bows his head, "I'm sorry, mom."

"You should be! _Three_ days, Finn." The relief of seeing him is finally being usurped by that anger. "For three days I have sat and worried about you, not knowing at all in the universe where you were. You could have been dead for all I knew. What's worse is that you _stole_ Burt's ship – you know how important the falcon is to him and you stole it anyway." She shakes her head softly, sighing, "I just don't know what to do with you."

"I'm sorry," he repeats, frowning, "but I'm fine, okay? I still have all four limbs."

" _Barely_! Burt told me about what happened." She steps closer to Finn then. Rachel almost enjoys the uncomfortable expression he wears as his mother tries to get a good look at his injured leg.

"Mom," he hisses.

She tuts, "I want to see if it's fully healed."

"Yeah and at the same time you're gonna show my underwear to the entire Senate. Besides . . . I don't want you looking down _there_."

Halting, she looks him dead in the eye. "Honestly, I am your mother. I do not care in the slightest."

Finn's cheeks are growing pinker and pinker, "please let go of my pants, mom."

When he catches Rachel giggling, his horrified expression is suddenly pointer her way. This attracts the attention of his mom, who too now has Rachel under her radar. "Look at me, I'm being very rude. Who is your friend, Finn?"

He shakes her grip off him, taking a quick step back. "Um, this is Rachel."

Rachel tries to keep her composure as Finn's mother continues to stare at her. Although not unpleasant, she isn't exactly enjoying this attention. Keen, however, to make a good introduction, she holds out her hand and forces a blinding smile to her lips. "Hello." She receives a kind handshake in return, followed by a smile.

"Rachel," she repeats, "how lovely." Pausing, her gaze doesn't give. "You don't seem familiar . . . are you and Finn . . .?" she turns to her son in question, frowning in confusion.

"She's a friend."

Despite herself, she feels a tinge of disappointment at his words. _Get a grip_ , she thinks, _you've only know him for three days!_ "We met recently," she says, unsure of how much information Finn's mother is aware of.

"She saved me my life, mom. It was _awesome_." Finn's words are fond, endeared. She can't help but let her smile grow brighter at the compliments thrown her way.

They don't last for long as Burt Hummel appears beside Finn's mother, his gaze prominent on Rachel even as he speaks to his wife. "I see you found Finn," he says, "Perhaps you could accompany him to the medic to check his injury. Then after that I suggest he gets some rest – it's been a long day for all of us."

"What about you, Burt?"

"The senators have been called to meeting." His voice is exhausted, expression not faring much better. "We have . . . much to discuss." Once again, she can feel the burning of his eyes on her skin.

"But you've only just got back."

Rachel senses the disappointment in the woman, but Burt leave little room to argue.

"We are low on time," he admits, "especially with a prisoner amongst her. We must question him and . . ." He slows to a halt, cautious as Finn is beside him, "we need to question you too, Rachel."

" _What_?"

She and Finn speak in unison, wearing similar tones of shock. While he is annoyed, Rachel struggles to overcome her sudden fear that she isn't trusted by anyone but Finn.

"Only for a few questions," he insists.

Determined to set the record right, she straightens her posture and lifts her chin, "okay." Casting a glance in Finn's direction, she gives him a wary smile, "I'll see you later. It was nice meeting you." She nods her head gracefully at Finn's mother and then follows in the footsteps of Burt, keeping a couple of steps behind him at all times.

All she hears for the next few moments is the sound of his boots rhythmically hitting the marbled floors.

Never having been a fan of silence, she makes any attempt at a conversation no matter how awkward it may seem between the two. "Why exactly do the Senators want to talk to me?" It's a bold question right out of the right, so much that Burt has no choice but to answer.

"I am not at liberty to tell you that," he replies honestly, pausing as they stand in front of a picturesque set of doors. Burt frowns once more, his eyes burdened. A hand wipes over his weary face as he addresses her with the first bit of sincerity since meeting him. "Look kid, I know that a lot of going on but just tell us the truth and everything will be fine."

She balks, "I _have_ been telling the truth."

Unaffected by her tone, he simply nods and reaches for the handle. "In you go."

* * *

Jesse scowls as he stands in the middle of the Senators, feeling each and every bit of their judgement thrown his way. "I told you," he emphasises, "I didn't work for Sue Sylvester. I was merely using her to keep myself safe." The man rolls his eyes at the sheer stupidity – this is a severe reminder of why he left the Crusader System in the first place.

"And how is working for the most evil woman in the universe in any way keeping yourself from danger?" Senator Bieste queries.

"It is better to be the right hand side of the devil than in his path," he quotes an ancient saying. "Besides, after I was banned from this system it was the only place that would take me."

Senator Figgins scoffs, "and whose fault is that? You turned your back on the Senate."

" _I_ turned _my_ back?" He shakes his head indignantly, "I only saw you for what you were . . . manipulating those who are force sensitive to do your dirty work. Sending children to fight battles that you are too scared to fight." Once more, that infamous scowl returns, "I refuse to be part of that."

His words linger the room, an eerie silence as they sink in. _Fat chance of that happening_ , he thinks. Jesse knows just who the Senators are trying to protect and it's not all the innocent citizens out there. Any chance of further argument seizes as the door slowly begins to open, revealing Burt Hummel and Rachel. Jesse's heart skips a beat at the sight of her, mind trying to piece together why on Taka she's being brought before the Senators. Then it sinks in.

"Ah," he announces, "you found another one. Some fresh meat."

His grin is sinister; he almost manages to laugh at the way her face pales.

"Don't you worry, Rachel. They'll look after you until you begin running out of usefulness - or start asking questions . . ." His dark eyes meet those of Burt, who only glares back.

"Thank you, Jesse. I see that your time for solitary confinement is long overdue. Perhaps this audience has got you a little too enthusiastic."

"Perhaps."

Sam has already made his way behind him, having restrained Jesse before he could even react. As he's being guided out, he spies Rachel's lightsaber still hanging from Burt's belt, and he suddenly smiles. "You want to see if they really trust you?" he hushes to her as they pass in the doorway, "ask for your lightsaber back."

Rachel only blinks in confusion, forehead creasing, but it does little to knock the smile from his face. He knows Burt – Rachel will be forced back into his arms before even _she_ knows it.

* * *

Will reclines in his seat, frowning as he watches Jesse leave the room escorted by one of the guards. With his exit comes a slew of reactions, some calling "traitor!" while others merely mutter under their breath. Will's simply lowers his head, casting thoughts back to his ex – student who had shown so much promise yet had ultimately succumb to his own selfish thoughts. Feelings of guilt stir in his stomach at the thought of Jesse behind captive, though. A sense of loss hits him – a sense that he had let down a boy that needed more than he could teach.

Now his attention must go elsewhere, to the lost girl who stands beside Burt. Her confidence wavers as she's led to the seat in the middle of the room, eyes moving from person to person until they meet his. Will holds her gaze for longer. With each passing second, he can see the onslaught of emotions whizzing across her expressive face.

"Tonight's events have shook us all," Burt continues, his voice as strained as the muscle's in his neck. "The Madame President is safe once again, but not for long. With the Empress out there she will always be in danger, just like the rest of us." His eyes slowly move around the room, trying to gain the support of his fellow senators. It is times like this when Will remembers why Burt had been elected into this role – from working man to a leader, his calm voice seems to work wonders despite the immense pressure it's under.

"I myself have been aboard her ship and can tell you of the endless dangers that could follow. With the capture of Jesse St James we are somewhat safer but not much."

"What are we going to do with him?" Senator Beiste questions, "He is no use to us here. He cannot be reinstated back into the system. St James is a criminal through and through, with sworn loyalty to the dark side."

 _Not true_ , he thinks, yet allows other to speak first. Patience is something he's long been practising and he needs to summon all he has to get through the end of this conversation.

"For now, we will keep him imprisoned. He is far too great an ally for the Empress to have – he is a powerful force wielder." Burt then clears his throat, spinning on the spot to face Rachel, "speaking of which . . ."

The room fills with mutters and mumbles about the mysterious girl. It's true, there have been countless rumours preceding her arrival yet he is sure that she has much more to give. Rachel stares up at Burt, "are you going to interrogate me now?"

Will stifles a smile at that, especially when the thin line that is Burt's lips gives a small twitch.

"We want to more about you," Senator Holliday says, "I mean, you just show up out of nowhere and happen to break Finn Hudson out of a jail. Then _lead_ him to the Empress' ship?" She holds her hands up, "that's pretty suspicious to me."

Senator Bieste clears her throat, "what we mean is . . . how exactly did you happen to meet the Senator's step – son?"

"Finn and I were both imprisoned by Karosky," she explains, "It was merely a coincidence. With the help of his BB – 8 unit I aided Finn and Noah in escape and in a serendipitous set of circumstance, enabled my own escape too." Rachel suddenly glowers, "and I certainly didn't lead anyone into the hands of Sue Sylvester. We were visiting a friend of mine when I was kidnapped by none other than Jesse . . . I actually don't know how Finn came aboard the Empress's fleet."

Burt steps in, face remaining stoic. "Finn snuck on board," he admits.

"You see?" she enthuses, "I was merely an innocent bystander to what happened on the ship." *ADD MORE*

"Why were you a prisoner?" Bieste suddenly speaks up. There is a small pause, Will sensing that there is something hiding from her story, a tale she dare not confess to.

She gulps, " _what_?"

"Why were you imprisoned by Karofsky?"

For the first time since entering the room, she falters. Her brain cannot seem to scramble the words together fast enough for she can only open and close her mouth.

Burt begins to grow impatient. "Answer the question."

"I . . . tried to steal a ship." Her tongue wraps around the words unsurely – Will doesn't believe it for a second.

Still, the Senators don't dwell. On _that_. Senator Hummels relents with his words. "And this friend of yours, the ally of the Empress . . . did you know this?"

Rachel vehemently shakes her head, "I had no idea. I wouldn't have gone if I'd have known – I wouldn't do anything to put Finn in danger!"

"And your abilities?" Burt chimes in, "why did you keep it hidden for so long?"

She struggles to find the right answer. "I –" Rachel stutters the word a repetitively.

"You what?"

"I didn't know."

Will feels his frown deepen, his legs pushing him to stand. "You didn't know that you were a force wielder?" She whips her head around at the sound of his voice. Rachel clearly hadn't been aware of his presence moments ago, and now she looks to him in bewilderment.

"No," she insists, "I had no idea."

Her confession leads everyone to draw their attention on him, their eyes full of questions that demand answer. Sadly, he does not have them all. Some, however, he can answer. "It is possible," he explains, "the force sensitive of old did not always know from a young age." He thinks back to the days of Skywalker and how his own abilities had been kept a secret until his teenage years, "While it is customary for us to test all our young in the Crusader system, others are not as thorough. You are from the outer rim, are you not?"

She nods.

Nodding, he tries to give her a comforting smile. While this may feel like an interrogation at parts, they really just want to know more about this mystery girl. "But Rachel, answer me honestly. Have you ever felt different, like you are in tune with a different aspect of the world that no one else can see?"

"Yes," she whispers out, appearing bewildered as to how he explained her situation so aptly.

"And have you ever been able to do things that you can't explain?"

With even more shakes to her voice, she breathes, "yes."

Far more questions burn away in the back of his mind, but he knows that there is a time and a place. Now is not that time. _Nor_ the place. Thankfully someone else jumps in with their own questions, and his are saved for a much smaller audience.

"What about your parents? Did they know?"

Now she shifts uncomfortably, eyes averting all other pairs in the room for all of a few seconds before a subdued line follows, "I have never met my parents, so I suppose not."

It is Burt's turn to look uneasy, stoic expression wavering. "I'm sorry," he says, "I wasn't aware."

"It's fine," she insists. Her lips pull into a paper thin line, holding in any further words.

Will takes this as him moment to intervene, cutting through the tense air. "I have a few questions for you, Rachel. If the Senators don't mind giving us some privacy?" His eyes move around the room, leaving little space to disagree. He may not be a Senator, but he does hold some power in this building, especially when it comes to those gifted with force sensitivity.

"We have not finished," Senator Figgins tries, gaze burning.

He frowns, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I think she's been interrogated enough." Their expressions say otherwise. _Politicians_ , he grumbles inside his head, "Come on, she's a kid."

Rachel pulls her face at that particular point, eyes narrowing in his direction.

"Will," Burt starts.

He puts a hand on his friend's shoulder, oozing confidence. He lowers his voice, "give her a break, Burt. You've got her stood in front of the Senators like she's committed a crime."

"You are speaking out of ter –"

"I know, I know," he holds up his hands in surrender, "but let's just have a little sympathy here. She's been through a lot, perhaps this can wait?" They ponder his words, hoping realizing that maybe they are being a little too hard on the girl. He gets it, honestly – Burt's job involves protecting the Senate, the Madame President and most importantly his family, yet this leaves his trust levels dangerously low.

Somehow, Will's words do seem to break through his icy exterior, or at least prolong the interrogation. "Fine," Burt gives a solemn nod, then turns to Rachel, "I will have a room put together for you. I will send someone to collect you as soon as William has finished." There is a lingering pause, "I expect no funny business."

He begins to walk away until Rachel's voice suddenly echoes around the room. "What about my lightsaber?" Burt swings around, eyes merely two hard dots. ". . . Sir."

"This," he grabs holds of the handle, "is a deadly weapon. I am not about to put it in the hands of a child."

"But it's mine!"

He jaw hardens, "not anymore."

With that, he makes for his exit, the other Senator's following in suit.

* * *

Rachel watches Burt walk away with her lips firmly placed into a frown. Her eyes zone in on the lightsaber that still hangs from his belt, and she swears that she can still _feel_ its presence. Even as he fully leaves her sight.

She turns now, facing the man who'd requested to speak to her alone – she's half glad that he'd put an end to _that_ , yet at the same time filled with some dread. For all she knows, this could be worse. There is something about him, however, that puts her more at ease. Her tightened muscles begin to relax, fists unclenching and heart rate slowing to a steady beat.

"I'm sorry about all this," he starts, "things are not easy right now. We face more threats than ever in the Senate and Burt is only doing his job."

"He doesn't like me," she announces, thinking that might be a bit of an understatement.

He gives a small chuckle, "no, that's just the way Burt is. He struggles to trust new people, and I think your affiliation with Jesse has not helped the matter."

"What affiliation?" Frustration seeps through into her words, "I've been kidnapped and knocked out and made to fight . . . and now I come here only to be treated like I've done something awful." She tries to force down the tears the bubble up, her annoyance at the whole situation suddenly overwhelming.

"Hey, I didn't mean it in that way," he backpedals, "it doesn't look good, is all I'm saying." Will sighs when she only offers silence in return. "I believe you," the man insists, bobbing his head slowly, "I don't think that you're some evil spy sent by the Empress."

She looks up to him in surprise.

"You don't?"

He shakes his head, attempting to lighten the mood with a soft smile, "no, not at all." He then pauses, unsure, "I do still have some questions for you though?"

Rachel sniffles loudly, but relents. His voice is softer than the others, and she doesn't get the sense that he's trying to incriminate her, which is a huge relief. With big, watery eyes she peers up at him and waits.

"Your lightsaber."

"What about it?"

"How did you come into possession of it?" When she looks confused, he adds, "These things are rare. Rarer than most. You know, it's only the second one I've ever seen in my life, and I have dedicated all my studies and travelling to learning as much about the force as possible."

She looks to him in surprise, ideas popping into her mind. Maybe in turn he has answers for the many questions she holds about the force, about herself. Rachel starts with a sigh, thinking back to the first moment she'd held it, "I found it on the planet McKinley." His brow lifts slightly in interest, "Finn and I were at this street market. He walked away." _Toward food_ , she thinks fondly. "But I could hear this noise, like there were hundreds of people marching inside of my head." Her fingers tug nervously at each other as she speaks. "It was so clear . . . it got louder the closer I got to it. It was weird – almost like . . . like it wanted me to come closer. I knew as soon as I saw it that it wanted me to pick it up, so I did."

He seems even more invested now, eyes sparkling with intrigue, "and then what happened?"

The images she'd seen flash through her mind, of Finn being chased upon the star base, of people being hurt and murdered before her very eyes. She blinks, cleansing her vision of such terrible thoughts. Her heart seizes painfully as she payers that no more of them come to pass, fear clutching at her insides.

While she's happy to open up about most of the past few days, this memory proves that one step too far. Turning to Will, she purses her lips together, "after I picked it up, everything went silent and it just felt . . . _right_."

So it's not a _complete_ lie, she thinks. Besides, other than Finn no one else knows about what she'd seen, and she trusts him more than anyone to keep her secret. Tilting her head to peer toward the man, she attempts to figure him out. He seems honest enough – a man devoting his life to others really can't be that much of a bad guy. Yet she reserves judgement. She hasn't exactly had the red carpet rolled out for her today, has she?

He nods, slowly. His eyes swim with thoughts and concentration, before he stands and takes a few pondering steps. "You know," he begins, voice brimming with intrigue, "it isn't just any old lightsaber that you've found."

"No?"

"Hmmm." Will dares a smile, almost as though inviting her curiosity further, "from my research and the ancient texts, there is only one possibility." Rachel, despite herself, hangs on his every word, her heart rate growing as the seconds pass. She inwardly chastises herself for being so easily swayed, and she tries to ignore her frustration as he leaves a longer than necessary pause.

"It once belonged to Luke Skywalker."

* * *

 **Hope you liked it and look forward to more! This story isn't entirely true to the Star wars universe btw, so if something isn't right I've changed it for this fic.**

 **Please drop a review if you enjoyed it :)**


	7. Little seeds of doubt

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading and keeping with me, you know it is always appreciated.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Little seeds of doubt

* * *

"Then it was just me and Jesse. He had his lightsaber so I knew that I was no match for him – I did the only thing I could think of. I _ran_." Finn peers around the faces of all the young students, who stare back at him with an uncertain mixture of awe, excitement and fear. "I ran until my chest hurt and I could barely breathe anymore, but he kept on coming. Then Jesse is all like 'you're a dead man, Hudson!' and it's then that I aim my blaster at him. I hit him once – _twice_. The second shot hits the stolen lightsaber hanging from his belt and sends it flying across the floor."

" _Oohh_ ," they chorus.

Finn hardly takes time to pause. "We both look at each other. I'm closer and I rush toward it as fast as I can. But Jesse . . . he lifts his hand and summons the force. The lightsaber begins to shake – that's when I know it's all over." He hangs his head dramatically. "It's all over."

Now he does allow a moment's silence, building the tension. He loves the way that they all lean closer, waiting on baited breath for the grand finale. Even his brother watches from the back of them, having been drawn into the story half way through. Finn's smile grows, eyebrow quirking. "The lightsaber shakes," he repeats, "and it rises into the air, flying and spinning so fast I can barely keep my eyes on it. Just when I'm expecting it to fall into Jesse's waiting hand, it zooms past him!"

" _ **What**_?" One young girl gasps, eyes widening in wonder. " _How_?"

"It flew behind him, landing in the hands of Rachel." Now the group fills with giddy gasps, so much so that he has to hush them. "Yes," he continues, "Jesse had been right all along – Rachel was force sensitive like him and had used the same skills to summon the lightsaber. Now the tables have turned. It's two on one!" He grows bashful then. ". . . Only, in the excitement I got distracted." Admitting so brings a flush to his cheeks and he runs a hand through his tangled hair, "Jesse realized and in his anger sent his lightsaber _straight through my leg._ He's just about to end it all when Senator Hummel arrives and restrains him before he can hurt anyone else!" Finn gives a long sigh, "and that's how we ended up escaping."

Barely seconds after he's finished he's bombarded by questions from each child, all wanting to know every detail of his adventure. Finn feels kinda awesome at the way their faces are lit up.

" _Were you scared_?"

" _Did it hurt_?"

" _I wanna use the force!"_

"One at a time," Finn chuckles at their enthusiasm, addressing the last person's question. "And not everyone can use the force – just . . . just special people I guess." For a moment he's reminded of his own childhood, of watching Kurt flourish under Will's tutoring while he could barely even bring himself to watch on due to his boyish jealousy.

The children don't seem the sense the change in his tone and still continue to hound him with questions. The smile bounces back onto his lips under their eagerness, remaining even as Puck appears behind them

"Alright you lot, back to class! C'mon, I need to talk to my boy and you're distracting him." Even though they mutter their complaints, most of them stand and begin to saunter away, not without telling Finn how awesome his story is. And it kinda _is_ , he thinks proudly to himself. It was terrifying beyond all belief, but for the first time in years he truly felt alive. Even now, he feels a difference – he carries himself with a different air. It's nice. No, better than nice – wonderful. Ever since he met Rachel.

He can't help but keep returning to this realization, that she's brought something unique into his life. The crazy thing is that he feels so strongly towards the girl that he's only known for three days, admittedly stronger than he's felt about anybody before. It's strange and crazy and all kinds of amazing. Only, he's utterly and completely messed it up on the ship home.

Finn knows that he has his moments but he's not a complete idiot.

The way she'd looked at him after the kiss, the hurt that had littered her features and the way he'd watched her completely pull herself away from him. Rachel's face does little to hide her emotions – that one had been an utter and total kick in the teeth. He –

"Hello." Puck obnoxiously waves his hand in front of Finn's blank stare, "anybody home?"

Shaking himself back into focus, he sighs, "what do you want, dude?"

"Why the long face? We're back home and safe, aren't we?"

"You might be safe but my mom has already banned me from flying for a whole _month_!"

Puck winces, "ooh, nasty. Sucks for you, Hudson."

He can't ignore the urge to roll his eyes, voice haughty as he questions his friend, "What did you want, anyway?"

"Oh, right. Senator Hummel was looking for you, something about a family meeting. I dunno, it's pretty weird that your family does that . . ." Finn glares, unable to stop the annoyed sigh from bubbling over his lips. "Probably about Rachel – now I heard some rumours that the Senators _ain't too happy with her_."

His heart freezes, blood running cold. " _What_?"

"Yeah," he smirks, all too happy to have a juicy bit of gossip. It irks Finn to no end knowing that it is about Rachel. "Apparently hanging around with St loser doesn't earn you too many brownie points."

He swallows his annoyance and dismay, choosing one of the many questions whizzing around his mind. "But she helped us catch him," he insists.

"Dude, I believe you." Finn gives a sigh of relief. "Thing is though, we don't really know that much about her. And how does someone _not_ know that they can use the force?" He only stares to his friend in shock as he continues to question Rachel's motives, "you know, she just kind of showed up at the prison and that's when the Empress sent people after us."

"Someone tried shooting us out of the sky _before_ we met Rachel," he seethes.

"You gotta admit, the whole thing is kind of suspicious."

Although he is silent, his tense shoulders and creased forehead answer for him.

Puck reaches out, placing a hand on said hand shoulder. "Look, Finn. I'm not saying that she is some spy or something." He shrugs himself, giving a light shake of his head, "I'm just saying that something is a little off about her."

"I don't know what you're talking about," comes his stubborn reply. He begins to walk away, wanting to get as far away from this conversation as possible. Puck foolishly follows.

"Think about it though."

"Think about _what_?"

"Why didn't Jesse kill Rachel when he had the chance?"

He clenches his jaw, eyes hardening as he is forced to think about Jesse. "He told her that he would help her escape." Finn insists, "She didn't really have a choice since the Empress was trying to kill her!"

Puck ignores that statement to continue his stupid theory. "And that's another thing! When we rescued her, the Empress didn't chase after us. For a woman that despises all force wielders and wants them eliminated, don't you think that's a little weird?"

"She didn't come back for the Madame President either," he shrugs, adding, "who she also hates."

"Finn, you're just trying to find excuses now."

" _No_." Finn skids to a halt, spinning to face his friend. "I'm just defending Rachel, okay? She saved my life on the starbase – before Burt tried to arrest her." His mind flashes back to their talk on the ship, how she'd tried to hide her upset but it hadn't worked one bit. "How do you think that made her feel?"

Suddenly Puck's face falls, his expression grave. Having only seen this expression in the direst cases, this raises concern in Finn. He tilts his head, expressing his confusion openly. "Look. I know that it sounds like I'm jumping on this bandwagon with everyone, but I'm being serious, Finn. Maybe she isn't working with the Empress, how do we know that we can trust her?"

" _Are you being serious right now?"_

Finn moves to leave once more, anger resurging. He can't believe that his friend is treating Rachel like this – if it wasn't for her they'd still be rotting in a cell thousands of miles away!

His exit is cut short by a deathly tight grip on his arm. From deepening, he tugs him arm free and glowers at his so called friend. Puck ignores it, leaning in closer to whisper. "At the village," he starts, "with Brittany . . . we were talking – I just asked her what she knew about Rachel." He pauses, thoughtful. "I wanted to know who this chick was that was travelling with us." Finn gives a liberal roll of the eyes, much to Puck's annoyance. He gives a light punch on his arm, expression almost begging Finn to hear him out. "She said a lot of things, mostly about Rachel not really having many friends. But then – she said that Rachel has hurt someone before. Like, physically hurt them."

The words refuse to sink in, leaving Finn staring at his friend in confusion and disbelief. "You're going to believe one of Sue's minions over Rachel?"

"She wasn't lying, Finn. Or, at least I don't think she was." He halts as a couple saunter past them, waiting until they are alone again to continue. "Like you said, maybe she was just a prisoner, but I'm not buying that she's been completely honest with us Finn." Puck must sense Finn's reluctance to listen any further. "I know you like her – hell, even an idiot could work that out, but just . . . be careful."

"Thanks for your advice," he seethes, "but I _am_ being careful."

With that, he finally is allowed to walk away and rush to his room.

* * *

Senator Hummel returns to his quarters, enjoying the silence that follows.

He slowly makes his way over to the cushioned chair, lowering himself and then leaning softly into its arched back. His muscles ache with age, yet he tries to ignore that. The Crusader system faces many threats – he must stay vigilant.

At least the Madame President is safe, he thinks, preparing to make a speech to her citizens right that very moment. Her words will be a compass of hope, something that they are all in dire need of right now. Burt stands with a groan, feet leading him toward the window. With a click of his fingers, it widens to an enormous viewing station that frames the City in all its glory.

An outsider would call it impressive, phenomenal . . . some would say even beautiful.

He struggles to share their wonder.

The Crusader system has always been his home and he has yet to turn his back on it, yet darkness lingers. It creeps around corners and hides in the darkest alleyways. It isn't the same place that he knew as a child, with crime rates having hit an all-time high last year and corruptness filling ever building. He knows that even their Senate cannot escape the ever present storm.

Deep down, he reserves hope for their newest leader. She is young, but not foolishly so. Perhaps she will be the answer to all of their problems. William seems to have faith in her abilities, but Burt knows that he is far too influenced by his feelings.

He will see about their new president.

For now, he can only stay watchful. Even if it means the frustration of his step – son over this girl. With a forlorn sigh, he absentmindedly rubs a thumb over the lightsaber.

Burt peers at his door, willing for no interruptions. Just to be sure, Burt locks it and closes the observation deck, covering the room in a veil of darkness. It is precisely the right privacy that he needs as he returns to his desk. Holding the heavy weapon, he pulls it from his belt and places it on the oak before him. Curiosity gets the better of him, the man lifting it and passing it inquisitively between his fingers. It is cold, almost icy, and bruised from battle. There is still an elegance about the weapon, the item drenched in history and experience.

"How did she get a hold of you?" he asks himself, still baffled as to the girl's sudden appearance. The Senate has searched far and wide for these, just as the Empress has herself, only for it to fall though the hands on some young girl.

 _The force works in mysterious ways._

His father had been a great believer in that, reiterating the point at least daily when to Burt's shock his young boy had tested positive during the Senate's tests for force wielders. How far Kurt has come now . . .

Soon the challenge will truly begin for the young force wielders, with the Empress' presence ever more present with each passing day.

And for a moment he wonders if they have found the fourth, the last one to join their ranks and aid in Sue's demise.

The girl is unsure, however, and he wonders which side she will choose. Has she been corrupted by the boy St James? Perhaps a little more probing would do the trick . . .

For now, he hides the lightsaber in his safe, where neither good nor evil can get to it.

* * *

Rachel sits upright at the sound of knocking on her door, head spinning slightly as she's pulled from her thoughts. She switches on the blinding lights and moves to answer it, allowing herself to smile when she realizes it's Finn. He is invited in instantly, taking place on the chair that sits in the corner of the room.

She unsurely makes her way back over to the bed, still not used to having such fine living quarters. It sure is a big step up from a hammock in a cold prison cell.

Finn looks to her in confusion, cocking his head to the side, "why is your window closed?" he asks, looking to the sealed square in the wall to their right.

"It was kind of . . . _a lot_ ," she answers gingerly, not wanting to fully admit that while the City is everything that she's ever dreamed of and more, it is still wholly overwhelming. Combined with her discussion with Will, Rachel is struggling to keep focus on pretty much anything.

He nods in understanding, giving a soft smile. When she doesn't say anything else, he clears his throat and bounces his leg. "I, uh – I'm sorry about before . . . you know, I didn't mean to react that way and then I kind of felt like a dick." She feels her heart sink at the mention of their shared kiss, though tries not to let it spread to her expression too much. "I just wasn't expecting it, you know?"

She hesitates, wondering if she'd been picking up signals from him that hadn't been there all along. Once again, she scolds herself for jumping straight into something without considering the consequences. "Don't worry about it," she lies, "it's fine. I guess I just caught up in the whole emotion of the past few days."

In turn, Finn appears confused at her nonchalant response, but he doesn't probe her. He takes the time to move onto another touchy subject. "What did the Senators want to talk to you about?" _Strike two, Finn._

She knows that he's curious, but having to relive the horrible interrogation brings a bitterness to her mouth. "They asked me about my past, about how I came to meet you and Noah." Her fingers tug at the hem of her shirt, "then they questioned me about the force." Their suspicious tones are deafening in her mind, causing her frown to deepen. "It was pretty awful."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She replies all too quickly, "only . . . they were acting like I was some criminal. It was humiliating." At this point, she turns to look him straight in the eye and asks, "I thought you said it would be better here?"

Finn visibly deflates at her words. "It will get better, I promise. You've got me and Puck – and hey, surely you can start training with the other force wielders, right? This means that you can finally learn how to use the force properly!"

His attempts at cheering her up are appreciated, so much that she dares the tiniest smile at his enthusiasm.

"You are also living in the safest planet in the whole galaxy! So you don't have to worry about anything, I will personally make sure that you have everything you need." He adds in a lopsided smile just for added effect. She feels her stomach dip excitedly at the sight of it, though forces those feelings away.

" _Anything_?" she humors him.

"I don't wanna brag or anything, but being the step – son of Senator Hummel pays alright. I get to live in the Senate building, I can use pretty much any of the rooms." Leaning closer, he whispers, "even some of the restricted ones."

Her curiosity bursts so strongly that she almost jumps out of her seat. "The restricted areas? Like where?"

He pauses, momentarily confused. It lasts barely a few seconds. "Well, some of the private observation decks and they have this super special training area. Also the libraries and hall of records."

" _Hall of records_?"

". . . Yeah."

"That's . . . good to know." She gives a firm nod, ignoring the way he looks to her in confusion.

Rachel is quick to alter their conversation on another course, taking the heat from her odd actions. "Anyway," she starts, "no one has mentioned anything about training?"

"They haven't?" His shock is evident.

She replies with a solemn shake. While she hadn't exactly been expected to be welcomed with open arms, she'd at least thought that the Senators would be more interested in someone will her skills – especially with the threat that The Empress poses.

"Well, they're crazy." Finn gives his adorable lop sided smile, and for a moment she forgets all her troubles. "'Cause what I saw yesterday was awesome. You could probably defeat The Empress yourself!"

"I don't think I could," she chuckles, though is unable to keep the smile from creeping onto her lips. "I was lucky enough to get away from Jesse."

 _Jesse._

The man's words haunt her mind, the resentment he expressed for the Crusaders system and all those like it. "I wonder where he is now," she adds curiously, lowering her gaze as she concentrates on her thoughts. Solitary confinement, Burt had mentioned. The idea doesn't sit quite right with her, Rachel's stomach twisting and writhing in tight knots.

"Does it matter?"

She blinks then, sighing. "I guess not."

Finn may look confused but he doesn't act on it and instead rises to his feet. "So I'm pretty sure I promised you a tour of this place, you game?"

"My own personal tour?" she grins, mood suddenly lifted.

"Of course." He nods. "Hey! We can even go and see where the others train! Maybe you could – I dunno, try the force thing again."

Rachel hops up too. "You think so?" She's bombarded with nerves at the thought of that. Her use of the force so far has been purely reactive and she's not quite sure what will happen when the threat is no longer there. Still, a part of her is brimming with curiosity at the thought.

"That sounds like a yes." His voice is hopeful.

"Let's go!"

* * *

Jesse explores each crevice of his new found home, searching for insecurities throughout the tiny cell. "Huh," he remarks as his search comes up empty, "looks like you upgraded your crappy cells." He peers through the small window that separates him and the world outside. Through it, lines of uniform rooms stare back, guards standing dutifully beside them. There are more cells than he ever remembers from his youth. "Apparently the Senate has made a lot more enemies in the past few years."

Growing bored of the activity outside, he returns to the solitary seat central to the dreary cell. Jesse lowers himself with abandon, resting his chin on his hand thoughtfully as he dwells over the past few days' events. The more he concentrates, the more his forehead wrinkles, eyes scrunching into small dots of thought.

He considers what became of Shelby and if the woman who taught him all he knows is okay.

He wonders why Sue Sylvester halted her attack on him and Rachel so readily, why she let her leverage of the Madame President go without even a fight.

He contemplates what will become of him now he's under the mercy of a place he once called home.

He thinks about Rachel, about how he needs her abilities and that he hopes he can convince her of such.

More importantly, he fantasizes about Finn Hudson's heart pierced with his lightsaber.

That particular image brings somewhat of a sneer to his lips. Leaning back, he gives a leisurely stretch and repeats it in his mind over and over until he almost feels happy.

His ears twitch at the approach of sudden footsteps – they are slow and heavy, yet assured. Jesse begins to stare at the door as they stop just before his cell. "Oh goody," he announces, "is it visiting hours already?"

Muffled voices sound, but he struggles to detect what they say. As expected, the door slides open moments later to reveal a face he certainly did not want to see.

"Burt Hummel." The words wrap around his mouth with distaste, bitterly sticking inside. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I don't have the patience for any of that today, St James." He steps further inside, beckoning for the door to be closed behind him. Jesse rises higher in his seat, watching with curiosity at the odd behaviour of the man. He appears rather reluctant but begins to speak anyway. "I am going to ask you a question and I expect the truth, capiche?"

Jesse could just about die from shock at that moment. For his own pride, he does little to let his expression reflect that. If anything, there is the twitch of his upper lip that Burt doesn't notice amongst his otherwise stoic features. "And what is in this for me?" He folds his arms across his chest.

" _Excuse me?"_

He smirks, "you heard me, Senator Hummel. Everything comes at a price . . . and if you've gone through all the trouble to come and visit me then chances are you _really_ want to know the answer to your question." He pauses, "which I am happy to provide, of course, with the help of some incentives."

"Do you really think that you are in the position to be negotiating?" Hummel raises a thick brow in question, unamused.

"Almost certainly – I have something that you want."

"You have nothing more than a small amount of information. Merely," he thinks, "a clarification." His words are slow, sure. Jesse still catches the lingering of doubt that hides behind his eyes.

"Then perhaps a _clarification_ is worth a better cell?"

"You think –"

He holds up a hand, "maybe one with a view? Then I'd be more than happy to oblige." When there is hesitance, he continues, "ordinarily I wouldn't even dream of helping a Senator, but you've caught me on a nice day. Plus I can see just how keen you are, _Sir_." The last word sits bitterly on his tongue.

Jesse almost expects Burt to leave, having grown tiresome of his antics. It's true, the pair have never seen eye to eye and he'd jumped at the chance to irk one of his former mentors, if only for a few minutes. Yet the man stays, patiently biding his time. This means one thing – he may be the one in the cell but he holds some power over the Senator, one that he is not going to willingly give over. All at once, anyway.

Teeth clenched, Burt Hummel's military gaze remains trained on Jesse, firm and lasting.

"If I can be so bold," Jesse folds his hands together, "what _is_ the question that you want to ask?"

Clearing his throat, he says, "I want to know more about the girl I saw you running away from the Empress with?"

"Rachel?" He clarifies.

"Yes. Miss Berry."

Jesse scoffs, "why don't you ask your step son?" The question throws him for a loop – why would he want to know _his_ knowledge of Rachel? Their acquaintance has lasted for merely a few days! When he peers upwards at his captor, he finds interest in this once stony eyes, and dare he say almost desperation.

 _They don't trust her_ , he thinks, heart beginning to beat wildly. Jesse knows all too well how distrust in the Senate can lead to isolation, to conflict.

"Finn's opinion is . . . complicated," he states. Then the man backtracks, "and I want to know your relationship with Miss Berry – why did you take her aboard your vessel in hiding? And upon discovery, why did you not kill her as ordered to by the Empress? Instead, you endangered _your_ life to save the girl's. Why?"

"I am not answering any questions until I know that I will have a more comfortable cell. I can't think in this confined space, you know."

He snarls, "I will consider it if the information is useful and valid. If not, you can enjoy many more nights in this empty cell."

Jesse senses a stalemate, both adamant on getting what they want. A wicked plan then grows in his mind, one that almost summons a smile to his lips. Being the wonderful actor that he is, he restrains it and holds onto it, decisively uttering his response. "Then I suppose I will tell you what I can about Rachel – as much as relates to your queries, anyway. It is not right to talk about friends behind their backs, you know?"

"Friends?" he balks.

"Well," Jesse pretends to ponder, "more acquaintances at this point I suppose – her becoming imprisoned really did affect everything."

Burt steps closer. "And this . . . imprisonment – how did it come into effect?"

"Stealing, mainly." Now that isn't a lie, he has seen inside of Rachel's head. He can vividly see those memories, "but the attacks – now _they_ came as a shock."

"Attacks?"

"It isn't as bad as it sounds!" he backtracks, all the while bursting with glee at Burt's reaction. "I shouldn't have used that word. Attack is just so darn negative. Outbursts, should I say?" He sighs, "It isn't easy, learning to control your abilities. You have seen it first hand, with your son. For any force wielder, it is a confusing time, but for some I guess it takes its toll and accidents just happen I guess."

"What exactly did she do?"

His brows knot together in thought, eyes gleaming. "She didn't mean to! Things just got out of hand and in frustration some people got hurt." Then he looks deep into Burt's eyes, "and when people don't understand, they think the safest thing to do is lock those individuals in cells."

The accusation is ignored unlike his other words, all of which look as though they are settling in the mind of the Senator.

Jesse leans forward, "maybe she will find her place under Schuester's tutelage." He stares toward Burt, eyes dark, "after all, it worked so well for me."

"Watch your tongue!"

"I know, I know. Will Shcuester is a wise man, yada yada. He has dedicated his life to the study of the force – he should be hailed a hero for his continued work for the galaxy!" Jesse speaks with feigned respect, deepening his voice. Moments later he adds in a scoff. "Please, that man is about as gifted as my big toe. Everything I have learned I have done so by myself, as soon as I was free of the shackles the Senate put me in." He glowers at Burt. "Even as I stand in this cell, I'm still freer than I was when I trained here with the others."

His head drops is sadness, followed by a rarely spoken truth. "I just hope Rachel realizes all of this before you brainwash her too."

Unfazed by his bold statement, Burt merely straightens his already stiff posture. "Hmmff – one day you will understand what we do is for the good of the galaxy and not for an individual's selfish reasons."

"So I'm selfish because I didn't want you to eventually send me to my death!" He spits out.

"That is _not_ what will happen."

"Not now that you have your fourth force wielder?" He raises his brow in question.

A pause. "Perhaps."

"If she's as smart as I think she is, she won't be so easily convinced."

" _It's me who isn't so convinced_." The words are muttered so quietly that Jesse almost misses them. _Almost._

Upon hearing them creep from Burt's lips as the man turns to make his exit, he grins. If Burt remains unsure of Rachel, then his frosty welcome will soon have her doubting her very place here. Indeed, knowing Burt it won't take very long at all for the young force wielder to begin feeling sceptical of the new home she's found herself in.

* * *

"It's not working," she huffs as she lowers her hand, unable to understand how something that had felt so natural at the time now evades her. "Am I doing something wrong?"

Finn, standing high at her side, frowns. "Uhhhhhh." His eyes squint together in thought, but no idea ever follows.

Rachel stares at the object before them – a simple book that they'd found in the training area – and glares at it as though _that_ is the root of her problems. Maybe the force just doesn't work on paper? Oh, stop being ridiculous, Rachel! She takes a step back, trying to reign in her frustration. Only, she's never been one for so easily controlling her emotions, and she feels annoyed tears threatening to bubble over.

She tries again, lifting her hand in the same way she did before, for the same response.

"This is very underwhelming," she eventually decides.

Finn tilts his head to the side, frowning.

"I just don't understand."

"Well, how did you do it last time?"

She pauses, deep in thought. The whole moment had gone by in a flash that she can barely recall what she had done. "I don't remember. It just felt like . . . like something else took over and it was all so – _instinctive_ , you know? I didn't have to think."

"Maybe that's your problem," he tries, "that you're thinking too much?"

Rachel gives a defeated sigh, moving to sit on one of the benches that spectates the middle of the training room. Finn quickly joins her. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind, between that whole debacle with the senate, Jesse . . ." And _you_ , she thinks silently as she lifts her gaze to the sweet boy sat beside her.

He picks up on something else. "Jesse?" he asks, voice bordering on alarmed.

"Hmmmm." She folds her hands neatly together, eyebrows knitting in thought. "He was so determined for me to join him – it's just curious, you know?"

"He tried to kidnap you though!"

She feels that nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach again, goosebumps rising all over her olive skin. "I know," Rachel says softly. "I am in no way defending his actions. I simply want to understand the motives behind them. As much as he hated the Senate, he seems to despise Sue Sylvester just as much."

"I guess he just can't be trusted."

"Yeah . . ."

Finn shuffles ever closer to her, their bodies flush against one another. "Besides, Jesse St James is safely stored away in a cell where he can't hurt anybody."

Nodding in agreement, she drops her head. "That's true. We only have Sue to worry about now." Still, she can't seem to tug her mind away from a certain force wielder and the words he'd promised.

 _I can show you anything you want to know._

That thought is tantalizing, scarily so. The girl has to give her head a firm shake to scatter it to the back of her mind and focus on other things.

If Finn had noticed her minor blip in thought, he doesn't say anything. "Yeah – with you on our side, nothing will stop us. I'm sure."

Rachel's lips spring into a bright smile at the sincerity of his words. It quickly deflates. Finn doesn't sense the important and pressure of his words, yet it appears to hit her like a tonne of bricks. Discovering her ability has been an exhilarating experience – a novelty that she's unsure will wear off. And though she desperately tries to keep her mind off a certain Jesse St James, his words are much harder to shake off.

 _We are at war, Rachel._

He had spoken with such fever, such passion, that it had been difficult to do anything other than believe.

Her frown deepens. There is no way that she can trust Jesse's words over Finn. After all – who is the one imprisoned?

Then again, _she_ was once the prisoner. . .

For a moment, she debates whether entering the Senate is a different kind of prison. The Senators don't seem convinced of her integrity, not the way that Finn trusts her. The only thing is that he doesn't have the same hold of the Senate as his step father does, and that puts her in danger.

"Rachel?"

She blinks back into focus, "what?"

"You were kind of out of it."

She smiles softly. "Sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

He gives his own smile, sympathetically so, and somehow moves _ever_ closer to her. "You should have a break!" he announces after a long pause. "Yeah – you need to just relax and let your hair down."

Rachel eyes him uncertainly. "I do?"

"Sure!" Finn nods. "These last few days have been crazy and you deserve to take your mind off of everything. How about we do something tomorrow . . . just you and me? Hey, I could give you a tour of the City, seeing as you've never seen it before."

"A tour?"

"I'll take you to all the best places! Maybe you just need to loosen up. What do you think? The two of us just loosening up together." Her cheeks flood with pink at his choice is words. When he realizes his faux pas, he quickly clears his throat. "As in, just hanging out, you know?"

She manages a soft giggle. "That does sound awfully tempting."

"C'mon, you know you want to." He offers a lop sided grin, "I'll be a great tour guide."

"I'm sure you will."

It doesn't take long for the two to decide to retire to bed, not before Rachel takes one last peak at the training area. She truly hopes that Will can help her master her ability.

* * *

She doesn't know how it happened.

The last normal thing she remembers is sitting with her mother, laughing and smiling, before the first explosion hit. It was no more than a loud crash, one than had her stepping out of the dilapidated hut they call home to the sweltering heat of the planet's surface.

Tina peers around curiously as she tries to place its origin, eyes straining against the rising morning suns. Through the piercing brightness, she spies it. Smoke bustling into the sky in a thick stream of smoke. Miles away, yet still so visibly black. "What is it?" Her mother asks, too old and frail to make the journey to look herself.

She struggles to reply. Eventually, she shouts back. "I don't know."

 _ **CRASH**_

She stumbles backwards, grasping onto the doorframe to steady herself as the whole world seems to shake and shudder beneath her. Tina ignores the sound of her calling mother, instead staring with abject horror as a home not too far from their own goes up in flames. She waits and waits . . . and hopes that she sees a fleeing family, but there is no such luck.

When she casts her eyes toward the fiery sky, they widen at the sight of fire streaming down towards her planet. " _No_."

 _They're under attack_. With a darting glance toward the ship responsible, her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach at the sheer _size_ of it. Almost a planet in its own right. They need to go and _now_. Running into a full sprint, Tina heads inside and rushes to her mother's side. "We have to get out of here. Someone's attacking us!"

"What?" She shakes through her words. "They can't be attack –"

Her words are cut short as another impact is made, dust and debris pouring over their heads from the ceiling. Tina reaches for her mother. "Come on, we need to be quick." Now convinced, the woman stands as fast as her aging body allows and lets Tina guide her out of the room.

"Wait! Our things, Tina – we can't just leave them behind."

"We need to find somewhere safe."

She is still reluctant, more so when her eyes settle on the destruction right on their doorstep. "No. It's safer in here. We can hide."

"This house can't protect us from anything." She tugs harshly on her mother's arm, hoping to encourage her. The fear stricken woman can only stay glued to the spit, eyes startled and fingers trembling. It brings tears to Tina's eyes to see the woman in such a rare state, but with the smell of burning in her nostrils and smoke stinging her eyes, she ploughs on. "If we don't go, we'll die."

She shakes her head vehemently at her daughter. "But . . . where will be go?"

Another _bang_ , both ducking and screwing their eyes shut as the explosion spreads. " _Please_ ," she begs, "anywhere but here. We'll get to a ship and escape." Not that those are easy to come by, yet she leaves that information to herself.

Her mother takes one promising step. A deep breath follows. Tina turns to pleading now, hardly aware of the tears streaming down her face as she begs for her mother to summon the courage.

But she hasn't left the house in 12 years – maybe this is just a step too far.

There is no time to think about that as the chaos around them continues, flames and screaming and fleeing is in every direction. The ship looms over their village like a dark cloud. It is a menacing presence that seems to be drawing nearer. Her mother has spotted it too, that being the straw on the camel's back and forcing her into full shut down. Tina panics, yelling and screaming her frustration out, using all her strength to pull on the surprisingly strong statue that she has become.

So engrossed in her task, Tina doesn't notice the shot aiming merely feet away from them until it's too late. The last thing she remembers seeing of her mother is the fire reflected in her dark, terrified eyes, before her world turns to blackness.

 **. . .**

 _Thud thud thud_

Her head screams out in agony before she feels anything else.

The world is still dark, but Tina can feel the warm dirt as though it has seeped into her skin. Something sticks to her cheeks, her fingers, and she highly suspects that it is blood from the irony smell that lingers around her.

Her ears buzz as they try their best to focus in on the surroundings. She dares to open an eye, wincing at the sudden light flooding in. But she has to see – she has to find her mother. The light turns to shapes and then to objects. She blinks, frowning deeply through her pain as she sees white figures hailing down from ships of their own. They march in unison, each wielding impressively threatening weapons as they seems to devour what's left of the village.

Fear coursing through her veins, she stumbles to her knees and crawls to the nearest spot of cover, which just so happens to be the remains of one of the homes. Tina crawls beneath the wreckage and stares as they begin rounding up the survivors.

"TR – 242, take your group straight to the Starbase and have them incarcerated." One commands, "They will be prepared for testing."

"Yes, sir." With a salute, he prods and provokes the tiny group of petrified villagers onto his tiny ship.

She reels back. " _Testing_?"

More ships leave, each taking with them their own set of prisoners. She is only relieved to see her mother not taken aboard, yet blatantly ignores what the other reason for that could be. Tina ducks as far down to the scorched earth as she possible can when a couple of the white suited guards march past her, their feet thudding against the ground in unison. She knows that she needs to get the hell out of there. Still, the thought of leaving everything behind rips her in two, and for a moment she is frozen on the spot.

Until she notices that the guards are destroying all of the ships. Her only means of surviving.

Tina makes a flash decision, despite the sinking feeling in her gut – she dives out of her secluded spot and runs as fast as her legs will carry her. For a moment, the residing smokes acts as a camouflage, earning her precious time.

It soon dissipates, as does her hope of escape.

" _Hey, stop_!"

She startles when a blaster is aimed her way, thankfully missing by a few feet, but it definitely lights a fire under her ass.

"You will be taken for testing." Another shouts at her with a monotone voice.

 _Never_ , she thinks.

Tina dives for the nearest ship, jumping into the worn passenger seat and pulling the shield abruptly over her head. "C'mon," she mutters over and over as the engine splutters into life, resisting all her efforts. "Please, just work."

She can hear them shouting, still too far away to quite get her with the blasters, but closer enough to be a threat. Angered, she kicks the booster control, only to sigh in relief as the control board lights into life. Her lift off is shaky, the ship creaking back and forth under the new strain. With one last look at her approaching enemies, Tina set off into motion. " _Yes_!" Her ship is old and definitely a little worn, but it should be able to get her somewhere safe, somewhere that she can warn people. Maybe even someone who could help.

The engine chokes out fumes, but it still runs. She sighs as the guards disappear into tiny specks on the ground. Moving further and further away from the scene of the chaos, she notes that her trembling hands still remain, as does her frantically beating heart. There is too much to think about, so much that her head spins with exhaustion.

She's so close to the atmosphere now, almost free of this carnage.

But her momentary freedom begins to slip from her fingers when she notices that she has company. She comes to an abrupt halt when her path is blocked by not one but two TIE fighter ships, both much bigger and better than hers

" _Oh no_."

* * *

Rachel stares out through her ginormous viewing deck, eyes following the hundreds of lights as they whizz every which way across the planet. Even at this time of night, there is no end to the hustle and bustle of the Crusader system – no peace to be found. She slowly closes the window and pads over to her bed.

The soft sheets feel irresistible under her fingers as she curls them up in her hands and slides beneath the comforter. It is more than she's ever had in her life and for that she is grateful, but a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach tells her to enjoy it while it lasts. The lights dim, leaving only strips of brightness from the outside to create abstract shadows over the cold, white walls.

She scrunches her eyes closed and begs her body to succumb to sleep.

It retaliates, her mind insisting on thinking and thinking, and then thinking some more. There is too much to consider – far too much to be concerned about. For many years now, she hasn't truly felt like herself, yet tonight this feeling wanes and waxes with much more intensity than in the past. She aches for the years in which she lived in blissful ignorance about her ability – how had it taken the force so long to be awakened within her?

Bitter and lost, she lets out a restless sigh.

At least she knows now. There is time to learn and grow. Even help them to defeat the Empress.

But not tonight.

Tonight she lays confused and conflicted in a bed that doesn't feel like hers, or a room that isn't home. Not that she really knows what it feels like to have a home any more.

Rachel Berry eventually falls into a fitful sleep thinking of lightsaber fights, of new worlds and cities, and a certain island that keeps hiding behind darkness.

 _Barely a few rooms away,_ _Finn Hudson dreams of the same island, a frown perfectly fitted to his lips._

 _Across the galaxy Sue Sylvester observes the destruction following her attack, grinning proudly at the distant screams and destroyed homes._

 _Santana Lopez stares out overwhelmed at the continuous sky of stars, begging that she'll find the planet her master so desperately desires._

 _In his office, Burt Hummel sits with his hand over his drawer as though protecting the lightsaber within from evil forces._

 _Far beneath them all, in a cell with a view, lies Jesse St James as he too beholds his home (if temporarily he tells himself) and he thinks of his most recent deception. He still has a plan, to rule to galaxy as only a force wielder can, with Rachel Berry by his side. If he has to tell a few lies to get what he wants, then so be it._

* * *

 **Thank you again, you wonderful people are still reading. Reviews are always appreciated but I just hope you are enjoying the story :)**


	8. Trouble ahead

**So I know I am the worst updater, but I have full intentions of finishing this story, in spite of how long it might take! If anyone is still reading this, please enjoy :)**

* * *

Santana Grips the controls so tightly that her knuckles turn pure white, teeth clenched as the ship barely makes it through the onslaught of space debris. The navigation system is just as lost as she is, scouring for any sign life. With a series of unsettling bangs, the ship finally clears the area. It whizzes onward through the Galaxy in search of the secretive island.

"It would help if I actually knew what I was looking for," she mumbles under her breath. " Ach – To." Santana mocks the words her Lady had spoken, "of course, Lopez. Why don't you know how to find that?" Scowling, she gives an irritated flick of her head, "it's only a miniscule planet that can't even be found on one of the most _sophisticated navigational communicators around_!"

As she continues to stare into what only can be described as the abyss, she groans. There is no way that she can return to the Empress empty handed, so it looks like she is stuck on this wild goose chase. "I am so screwed."

* * *

Finn walks slowly into the training hall, pace slowing further when he sees Kurt, Quinn and Mercedes all sat on the floor with eyes closed and hands grounded on the hard concrete. A twinge of disappointment passes through him when he doesn't see Rachel there, but he brushes that to the side.

As he watches Kurt, he struggles to place to jealousy that seems to surface during these training sessions. It's not that he's not happy for his brother . . . he totally is. But even since they were children it was always Kurt who seemed to gain the spotlight in some way or another, even from being the first to start talking to making honor roll in school.

Finn – well, he got to watch his brother succeed every single time, and yeah he's not angry at Kurt for being _good_ at things. Just for once, though, it would be nice if it was _him_ who could make everyone proud.

"Finn?"

At the sound of Quinn's voice, he blinks and finds all three staring at him as though he's just grown another head. Clearing his throat, he focusses back on his friends and . . . yeah they're still staring.

"You okay, boy?" Mercedes' face twists in confusion.

"Uh, yeah. I just wanted to come hang out with you guys." He doesn't mention that he was kind of hoping a certain brunette would be here.

Quinn raises a perfectly arched brow. "Since when does Finn Hudson want to hang out with us?" Her eyes are a piercing blue that he remembers terrifying him when they dated for a couple of weeks in their teens. "Could you not find Puckerman?"

He smooths a hand through his hair, internally reminding himself that it's getting kinda long. "Yeah . . . don't know where he is. And my mom is always saying that I should be with 'peers who are a better influence' so . . . here I am."

Again, they stare.

Kurt is now on his feet, primly brushing off the non – existent dirt from his clothes. "Okay, I am not buying this, Finn. You're being weird." Straight to the point, as always.

He feigns shock. "I'm being serious." He peers to Mercedes, who is still cross legged on the floor and sharing a look with Quinn. "What were you guys doing? Like is this some sort of . . . force yoga thing?"

There is a three second silence before Mercedes bursts into hard laughter, so much that he leans a hand against the floor to steady herself. Moments later, she joins the other two in standing and four move to the benches to the side of the room. "You are funny, Finn. Did you know that?"

He laughs unsurely. "Thanks?"

"But seriously," she gives him a look, "why are you coming bothering us? We all know you ain't got any interest in our training." Her face suddenly grows sympathetic. "Are you and Puck still annoyed at each other?"

Inwardly, he rolls his eyes. "No, we're fine, I swear. I guess I just . . ." He trails off, realizing that convincing these three is an impossible task. All of them can see right through his lies and so he just decides to blurt it out. "Do you know anything about the ship that crash landed in the Uhah district last night?"

There's a noticeable shift in the room, with sombre glances shared and an uncomfortable silence that seems to follow. Kurt is the first to speak. "What do _you_ know about it?"

He frowns. "Nothing." Then sighs, "I thought you guys might know something since you're like . . . _you guys."_

Mercedes folds her arms across her chest haughtily. "Which means?"

Finn scrambles to pull back his words. "I mean, like, if anyone is going to find out about it, it's you. Unless I went and asked Burt but something tells me that he's not going to be telling me anything. Ever since we got back from the outer rim, Burt hasn't trusted me with anything."

"With good reason," Kurt claims, "you almost got yourself killed."

" _And_ Puck." Quinn adds, earning a side glance from Mercedes.

He frowns, "but I did also help capture a known enemy of the Senate."

Kurt gives him a look as though to say ' _puh – lease'._ "All by yourself, I assume?"

"Uh." He shifts his eyes back and forth, "I had a little help."

"That isn't what you've been telling anyone that'll listen to your stories." Mercedes adds. "They think you are the lone hero of your little escapade."

Finn feels his cheeks grow hotter – he almost forgot how intimidating the three of these can be when they get together.

"And no." Quinn adds her two cents, "we don't know anything about that ship." Annoyance spreads across her features, "no one has told us where it came from, or who was in it."

This is when Finn throws a shocked glance to Kurt. "You've asked your dad?"

The boy gives a defeated shrug. "Nothing." He lowers his voice into a whisper. "All I know is that my dad and the other senators have been together all morning." Weird, he thinks, it's not like Burt to leave Kurt completely out of things.

"Oh." He deflates, "okay. Well, I guess I'll see you guys around."

"So you _were_ using us for information." Quinn smirks.

Finn lifts his hands in surrender. "Guilty as charged. Not that you guys aren't great or anything . . . just yoga isn't my thing, ya know?"

They react with a series of eye rolls and chuckles.

He begins to step backward when a thought flashes into his mind, causing him to come to a halt. "Do you know where Rachel is?"

He's met with blank expressions.

"I'll take that as a no."

* * *

The words all seem to blend into one, scrambling in her brain before it can really process the information. Rachel leans back with a prolonged sigh, blinking to try and focus her eyes once more. Even so, the words seem to be sunk into her retinas – that doesn't help her make any sense of them.

She is grateful when her menial task is cut short as William Schuester steps inside the room. With a burst of energy, she jumps from her seat, so quickly that he jerks in surprise. "Mr Schuester," she starts.

"Rachel," he says softly, "I told you to call me Will."

"Well . . . Will – I've been meaning to talk to you about my future role here."

He quirks a brow, confused. "Your future _role_?"

Although she is aware that she might be presenting herself as slightly forward, she keeps the smile plastered to her face. If she ever truly wants to find out about her abilities, she needs to train with the others and that means staying on Will's good side. "Yes," she pushes onwards, "while I am aware that my presence in the Senate is still being watched under a sceptical eye, I believe it is time to advance my training to the next level."

Realization dawns on him and he gives a slow nod. "Rachel –"

"I know what you're going to say!" she holds a finger up to silence him, "that my time right now is better spent studying the force rather than –"

"Just blindly throwing yourself into training," he finishes. Will smiles, almost sympathetically, "I know that you're eager, Rachel. But this type of ability is a lot of responsibility and we need to ensure that all those training here are the Senate understand their own limits." He gestures toward the pile of books keenly waiting her on the desk. "Hence, why we ask this of you."

"Did the others have to do this much research?" she tightly folds her arms over her chest, face challenging. Despite her small size, she does her best to seem intimidating.

He observes her with a raised brow, questioning her apparent confidence. "This is the task I have given you." He purses his lips, "do you think it a waste of time to understand the force?"

She rolls her eyes, "no, _of course_ not." As he begins to walk to one of the bookshelves, she pursues his steps. "I just have reason to believe that I'm being singled out due to my . . . well – my past." Rachel feels her lips tug downwards in uncertainty, "the Senators don't trust me, it's plain to see. Why else wouldn't they let me begin training with the others?"

Will pulls back, turning to stare at her with a look nothing short of serious. "Listen to me, you have to understand that this isn't some child's game. The responsibility that you have is unimaginable – the Senator's wariness, although I do not agree with it, is to be expected." At his words, it is Rachel's turn to furrow her brows in thought.

"You don't agree with them?" she breathes out, tilting her head.

He blinks, as though he hadn't realized those words had slipped from his lips. Nevertheless, the same lips harden when he speaks. "I may not agree with them, but their decision is final."

Despite herself, she huffs out in frustration. "You can't just expect me to stay in this dingy room and stare at books all day!"

"Rachel," he says softly, clearly keeping a hold of his patience.

"They don't need to know," she pleads, " _you_ could teach me. Away from the others."

" _What_?"

Her eyes are wide, begging as much as they possibly can. She can feel her temper teetering on the edge as the conversation escalates, a fire inside the pit of her stomach. "You heard me," she assures him, her confidence tone unwavering. "I need someone other than books to teach me." As if to really hone in on her point, she throws the books aside like a petulant child. Will raises his thick brow, unimpressed.

"I want to help you bu –"

"I'm _good_." She insists, voice firm. "Really good – that's without any tutelage or help. Think of what I could be with your help. Sue Sylvester wouldn't stand a chance."

He only stares then.

Will's eyes look as though they've seen a ghost, lost in the fog of his own mind for so long that she begins to frown in confusion. He seems to compose himself as best he can. Those brown eyes still stare at her with cautious, however. "There is nothing left to say," he simples states, "I will let you know when you are ready."

Not allowing her a chance to retaliate, he makes a beeline for the door with a hurried pace. Rachel struggles to keep up with him. "And _how_ long will that be?" She demands, infuriated when he denies her an answer. The rage inside her quickly turns into something else, brewing away with a force she cannot control. As her eyes narrow toward him in anger, the lights twitch irrationally, causing Will to stare up in wonder.

He turns then, marvelling at the girl as the world around them seems to darken.

All too quickly, she realizes where she's headed and puts a firm stop to her rising temper. The room calms once more, Rachel's vision clearing once more. She lets out a deep breath she didn't even notice had been stagnant in her lings. "I'm sorry," she says, "I don't know what came over me. I . . ."

"Keep reading the texts," he whispers, adding with caution, "and try to control your emotions. If the Senators were to witness . . ." Will gives his head a thoughtful shake, "you must learn self – control or I cannot help you."

With that, he makes a swift exit, seemingly forgetting the initial reason he'd entered the room. Rachel slowly lowers herself back to her seat, lightheaded with exhilaration. Short, unsteadied breaths follow. She had felt the force in every inch of her body, tied and twisted with her emotions. And, for a moment, she had almost lashed out in frustration. But with a deep, shaky breath she reins it back in.

* * *

On the other side of Senate building, Will Schuester is torn.

He wears a path in the floor from his pacing, while his head pounds with thought. His conversation with Rachel still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and worry in his heart.

 _Think of what I could be with your help._

That is not the first time he's heard those words before, spoken with the same ferocity and determination. He lowers himself to his desk with unease, legs bouncing with nervous energy. The only difference with this time is that it actually frightens him. He now knows the true relentlessness of that thinking, the same thinking that Jesse had shared.

Look at Jesse now.

Locked away like a criminal, brimming with hate and anger – mostly for him.

He had pulled away back then, removing Jesse from training and trying to limit his learning of the force. Stupidly, he now knows, but it had all been done with good intention. The only thing he wanted to do was keep the Crusader system safe, and Jesse from being tempted by the dark side with egotistical promises of power and grandeur.

Does this girl share the same fate?

At this point, he sucks in a sharp breath. His fingers tap against the dark wood of his desk, drumming an irregular tune. As her words repeat over and over, a decision spreads over him.

He can't fail her, not like he did Jesse.

With that, he shoots from his chair and makes the quick walk to Burt Hummel's office. As usual, he is stood stoically at the window, deep in his own thoughts. So much so that he hardly notices when Will enters the room. "Burt," he addresses him softly, causing the taller man to turn in surprise, "we need to talk . . . about the girl."

"William, you know that the entire Council needs to be informed regarding that case." He moves so that he is facing him, expression growing no less severe and grave. He appears more troubled than Will, and so it does pain the man to be the bearer of bad news, but he must.

"I know, but I don't have time for that." He shakes his head, feeling almost breathless. "And besides, those old fools have already made it clear where they stand – I thought I could at least get through to you."

Burt raises a brow in question at his choice of words, yet lets it slip. "Go on," he starts, voice devoid of interest.

"I think we need to let her trai –"

"We've been over this."

His jaw locks. "She is _frustrated_ , Burt. Scared. She doesn't really know how to control her abilities and books are not going to give her all the answers that she needs." He looks to his friend in hope, eyes wide and serious, "we cannot just brush this aside and hope for the best."

"There are bigger things to worry about, Will."

"But I fear that she will be tempted by the dark side!"

At this, Burt's eyes widen slightly, deep thought behind them. "I fear she has already gone that far, and the last thing we want to do is _train_ her. Especially with the others – with my _son_. I am not putting his life in danger for the sake of some girl. If you really are concerned about her, then there is always an empty cell next to Jesse St James."

Now it is Will's turn to stare in shock. "You don't mean that," he insists, lips curling downwards with horror. "She is a child, Burt."

"She has hurt people before."

" _What_?"

"She has hurt people," Burt repeats, voice almost a whisper.

". . . How do you know?"

He stiffens, holding himself as though he's being interrogated. "The St James boy let it slip." Within a matter of second, his booming voice commands the room once more. "And I know that one day my son will have to face danger, but today is not that day. I am not willing to take that risk, Will."

Will struggles to accept his words, knowing that his fight is fruitless. When it comes to Kurt, Burt will not move a millimetre if it means protecting his son. "This is a mistake, and you know it. The Empress' threat is growing with each and every second – they will have to fight. And you will not let the fourth fight with them. What about the prophecy?"

With a grumble, he shakes his head. "The prophecy was made in a time of desperation to keep the peace. We have no need for it now, only actions." At this point, he saunters back to the window with his hands placed firmly behind his back. His expression has remained fairly stable throughout the conversation, but Will spies a crack in his armour. The lines of worry that etch his face hide something else.

"What is going on?" he probes after a few moments of silence.

The other man lets out a defeated sigh, eyes sad. "Sue has destroyed three planets in the space of two days – there has been but one survivor."

That news knocks Will like a brick wall, an instant nausea flooding over him. "W – What?"

"Her fleet is growing, Will. She may have lost Jesse St James but she has unthinkable power and she is headed straight for the Crusader System." He looks straight into Will's eyes, his own gaze brimming with concern and something Will has rarely seen from his friend – _fear_. It unsettles him.

"And," he dares to start, "what do we do?"

Burt's face is aged, dark. His body hunches with the weight of his worries. "We fight, William. We send some of our own forces to try and stop the traction in her crusade. We cannot let her gain any more power."

"What of the force wielders? Are they to join you?"

"No." He doesn't miss a beat.

With widening eyes, Will observes his Senator. "But all their training . . . it is said that one of them will destroy Sue. You need them. We cannot possibly hope to –" Burt holds up a hand to silence him, expression leaving no room for defiance.

"We will call upon them _if_ and when we need them. I will not send children to their slaughter."

Now his body fills with anger, shock resonating through his pores as he glowers at the man. "That is not what Kurt would want, and you know it. He wants to protect his people." He closes his hand tightly into a fist, curling all of his frustration into the action. "I know that he is young, but he has been training for this his whole life – all of them have. This is _their_ fight just as much as it is yours." He gulps then, deeply and with a quiver in his throat, "and it is the girl's, too. _Let_ her defend us."

No matter how much his expression pleads, it does little to sway the stoic man before him. "I will . . . not allow it. And if you dare go against my orders – you know what will happen, don't you?"

The threat is unwillingly given, yet sure in itself.

Will simply nods his understand and turns to leave.

* * *

"Dude, did you see how pissed he was?" Puck clutches his side as the laughter becomes too much, "that's the last time he'll mess with us too." Lifting a hands, he grins, "up top." Stomping away from them is the disgruntled citizen who clearly wants to put distance between himself and the two boys.

Finn happily obliges to his high five, dumping himself next to Puck on the ships' battered alloy surface. It's only a small cruiser, probably too small for the two of them now that they're no longer two kids. He turns to BB – 8, squished within the two aluminium seats. "Yeah," he struggles to catch his breath back, "he didn't even see us coming." His eyes move to the guns at the front of the ship, a botch job done in secret by the two. The turbo lasers twitch with overuse, a steady stream of smoke puffing from one side. "Ah," he grumbles, "I'm gonna have to fix that though."

His friend brushes off his concerns with a nonchalant shrug, eyeing the city. "This is just like the old days. You and me, just being bros. Giving the losers just what they deserve." He reclines and gives a small sigh, lips curved in content. "Not a care in the world."

With a weary smile of his own, Finn peers down at his friend. "Yeah," he speaks, unable to summon any other words. He seems to have nothing _but_ cares these days. Truth is, the city is different. Everyone is scared and angry and all sorts of pissed. Not just because he and Puck chased them with some lame turbo lasers. Like, this is _real_.

A fear lingers on everyone's lips, threatening to teeter into the hushed conversations on the streets. People speak of a disappearances and attacks and of the chaos that goes on it far off planets. He just used to think that they were stories to ward people from the outer rim, yet now he wishes he'd been listening the entire time.

"Oh god, what are you thinking 'bout now?" Puck's voice crashes over his thoughts, his friend smirking, "I swear, you get that misty look in your eyes more than a chick. And I should know – Fabray and I have been _very_ close since we got back." When Finn lifts his eyebrow in question, Puck starts dry humping the air as if to clarify.

For a moment, he enjoys his friend's stupidity. "There is no way that Quinn would sleep with you."

"Are you only saying that 'cause you never wormed your way into her panties?"

Finn cringes, "do you have to say it like that?"

"Only saying the truth, dude." He holds up his hands in innocence.

"Which is that you're gross." Finn smirks towards Puck, who has the cheek to look proud.

He gives a carefree whistle, announcing, "at least my love life is better than yours. Do you remember that time that a chick kissed you and you just stared back at her?"

This causes him to freeze, stomach twitching into a painful thought at the memory. He cringes, eyes sad. "I should never have told you about that," he hisses, thinking back to a particular brunette.

"No, you really shouldn't have."

Puck gives pause, but doesn't get discouraged by Finn's monotone response. Sitting up straight, he shuffles to face Finn. "Are you and her like . . . you know?"

He squints in confusion.

"Are we what?"

"Well," Puck stares at him like he dumb. To be honest, he kind of feels it right now. "You gonna kiss _her_ this time? She may be all kinds of crazy, but even I would go there. She got that tight bod, ya know? Can't resist those. "

Those words bother him more than they ought to, and he grimaces toward his friend. "I thought that you didn't trust her? That she was working with Jesse the entire time, right?" Bitterness laces each syllable.

" _Dude_ , I said I was sorry about that." He rolls his eyes, "besides, it was weeks ago."

"I just can't believe after all we went through with her you –"

He huffs out in the middle of Finn's sentence, "don't start this again."

"Rachel saved our lives and –"

"Yes," he sighs and throws his head back in annoyance, "you said."

"She . . . she –" Finn begins, his words seemingly getting caught in his throat despite him having lots to say on the subject.

"She looks super pissed right now."

All other thoughts flutter out of his head and he turns to Puck in confusion. "What?"

But he isn't looking back at him and instead transfixed on something in the distance. As Finn follows his line of sight, he finds himself staring at the very girl they've just been discussing. Her face is sour, red with annoyance and her walk is stiff and tense as she hurries off away from the Senate building.

Finn is stood in a heartbeat, legs chasing in her footsteps before he even thinks about it. "Hey!" He hears Puck shouting behind him, "are you serious? You're just gonna leave me?"

"Sorry dude," he hurriedly responds over his shoulder.

Casting his gaze ahead of himself, he scans the horizon for Rachel. She sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the citizens, especially as she barrages through them all like a blaster.

She turns, so does he. "Rach!" He yells over the chatter of the streets. Then louder, "Rach, stop!"

The streets grow wilder with people and hovercrafts, whizzing back and forth so fast that he struggles to keep his eyes on her. A few more turns and she altogether disappears, no longer distinguishable from the crowd. At the point, Finn starts to slow, staring head with an expression of hopelessness, feet scuffing at the floor.

"Dammit," he groans, turning to retrace his steps back to his friend while wondering what troubles the other.

* * *

He stands with a heavy heart as he waits outside the Madame President's office. When he's beckoned in, it only grows heavier. His feet feel reluctant, as though they are weighed down with thick lead shoes. The usually bright room is filled with shadows, only one lamp lighting the silhouette of his President.

She is turned from him, body hunched over something that he can't quite see.

As he steps further into the room, he glances around the meticulous office. Despite the darkness, he can still see the neatly lined books and ornaments, not even a millimetre out of place. Her strange affliction for order had always been something that he had found strange, yet this behaviour is even more bizarre for her.

She is a petite woman, her red hair usually neatly coiffed around her face and her posture erect. He feels uneasy as he realizes how small she looks. Maybe her capture upon the Empress' ship had more of an effect on her than he had previously thought. "I have news, Madame President."

The sound of his voice has her jumping on the spot. She spins, turning up at him with worn eyes. He does his best to keep his expression as neutral as possible. Despite his worry over his leader, he must remain as loyal as ever to the Senate. "Is this about the ship?" She questions, slowly standing in place with her hands neatly clasped together in front of her. "Or Sue Sylvester?"

He heaves in a sigh. "Both."

"Both?" She repeats bleakly.

"I am afraid that things are worse than they seem. When you were taken by the Empress along with the other Senators, it was to put the Crusader system without a leader and thus vulnerable. But it is not just us who her sights are set on."

Her features scrunch together in confusion. "What do you mean, Burt?"

"The crash." He begins, "there was just one pilot – or survivor should I say."

" _Are they okay_?"

"She is fine, considering. She has been through an ordeal, my lady." He frowns. "I am sorry to say that there appear to be no more survivors."

She reflects the sadness in his expression, yet looks unsure a few moments later. "From the ship?"

He would not say that he is the most emotional man, but the next few words bring a lump to his throat. "From the planet."

The news seems to wind her, the woman's already pale face now devoid of all color. "What happened?" She demands to know, some power returning to her voice.

"Sue attacked, destroyed everything in her path."

"And she killed everyone?" Disgust laces her words.

"Not killed," he corrects. He lifts his gaze to look straight into her terrified eyes. Burt shares that terror, not only for himself but for his family and the innocent people around the universe. "They were taken by her Stormtroopers. Now we don't know their intent, but we cannot let this stand." He moves closer, "this isn't the first attack, and it won't be the last. We are hearing reports from outside the Crusader system of similar happenings."

She is quiet, thoughtful – he can see the tears beginning to swirl in her eyes. Somehow in spite of the heavy news and her own troubles, she keeps them from falling. "We must do something." She confirms his thoughts, "and we must free those prisoners."

"We can spare a few ships to head for the Empress' fleet at once for a rescue mission. I will lea –"

" _No_."

His response gets caught in his throat. ". . . Ma'am?"

"We are not sending a rescue mission."

Now he fills with anger, disbelief. "Now I don't want to speak out of term, but there are innocent people aboard that ship. It is our _duty_ to save them."

"And we will." She breathes out. "But we're going to need more than a few ships Burt. . ."

Her eyes are sad.

It barely takes him a few seconds until realization dawns on him and her words sink through his thick layers of skin.

"How long will it take us to prepare?" she questions, raising her chin up as though trying to summon strength from somewhere. Burt wonders where he's going to find that himself.

He gives a thoughtful pause. "Two days in a push, my lady. Three if you want us to be fully prepared."

The Madame President gives a long, slow nod. "Okay, then three you will have." Her shaking fingers push the open book on her desk around. "I will make the announcement later today – until then please keep this between the two of us, Burt."

Cleaning his throat, he sighs. "Of course."

Burt turns in place and walks out into the familiar hallways, yet he couldn't feel less grounded if he tried. He had suspected a brewing conflict was due – he just hadn't been ready for it this exact moment. In all honest, he had feared that he would never be ready for it. He experiences numbness in his surroundings like never before, all of the air sucked from his body.

He is scared, not for himself. At his age, it would be foolish to being preoccupied with his own welfare. All things considering, he's had a wonderful life.

But his twenty year old son has barely begun his. Now Burt's fear is that he won't get that opportunity.

* * *

Sue Sylvester stares out at the docking station over the thousands of Stormtroopers moving back and forth in form. She smirks, "look at that perfection. Everybody doing exactly as they're told – all the same. That is what we like! Now that is what respect looks like." A scowl lines her carved face as she thinks back to the last few days.

"Any word on St James and his big nosed freak?"

The armoured guard she addressed stands straight, voice emotionless in reply. "Both in the Crusader system. He is kept there as a criminal while his friend seems to have been accepted by the Senators."

She curses under her breath, stomping her way over to the observation deck and staring into the abyss of the universe. "Just what I needed – another one in the hands of Will Schuester. That man makes me sick. Wearing sweater vests by _choice_. Who does he think he is?"

"The implications of this are not good, ma'am. With the girl, the Senate now has four force wielders at the disposal and according to the prophecy that is when –"

"Do not tell me about the prophecy," she drawls with boredom. "You think that I believe those children's stories." Every joint in her body tightens as she considers her plan. "Soon the power of the force won't belong to just the select few. Soon we will be able to harness it for ourselves. Then," she smirks, " _then_ we can talk about prophecies."

He clears his throat nervously, almost daring to ask. "Even then, do you not fear for your life?"

"Don't make me laugh!" Delight twinkles in her eyes. "Those lot were in diapers when I had my first fleet. You think any of those pathetic force wielders could actually kill me?" she narrows her already sharp eyes at him, "or do I need to get a captain with better faith in their ruler?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good." Her attention is drawn away as another of her troops steps inside, his armor scratched and scathed. "What do you want, KI – 853?"

"The prisoners are becoming restless. There is not enough room to keep them all without a riot beginning. They want to know why they are being kept here?"

She sighs. "After we have been such gracious hosts. They've got a roof over their heads, haven't they? Which is more than I can say for most of those slums they were living in. They should be thanking us!" She doesn't move from her position as she overlooks what will one day be hers. "I suppose we can make some arrangements to make them more . . . comfortable." She now spins, facing the guard head on with a look nothing short of sinister. "Kill every third prisoner. Remind the others how lucky they are to be alive."

With a nod and short bow, the Stormtrooper is gone.

When she hears screaming moments later, that smirk only grows stronger. All of this is one step closer to destroying the Senate and getting the justice that she deserves.

* * *

Jesse jerks up from his sleep when he hears approaching footsteps. A roll of his eyes follows – he doesn't think that he can take anymore smug interrogations from Burt Hummel. Besides, it's been a week since the last visit from him and nothing seems to have changed. For a few moment he had wondered if this is his fate . . . just fading away in some cage in the Senate building. He scowls at that thought.

Yet there isn't much time for any reflection on his current situation as he hears the door code being entered slowly, almost unsurely. At this, he frowns.

It's not Burt.

Jesse sits straight, waiting to greet his guest with the uttermost hospitality. Who says that he can't be accommodating? Besides, this might be the only visitor he gets in days and he would like a meaty conversation to chew over perhaps the next few days. If anything, just for his sanity.

The doors beep in approval, seeming to open slower than usual and then those footsteps enter his tiny cell. Jesse sucks in a breath, eyes widening at first and then joining his mouth in a knowing smile. "Rachel," he says confidently, "welcome."

* * *

She doesn't know what she's doing.

She has no idea why she is voluntarily heading towards the man who _kidnapped_ her.

Nor does she remember the exact moment she decided to use the force on the guard so that she could gain access to the cell.

All she knows is that she is here now, and that this might be her only way to get the answers that she needs.

 _This isn't right._

She shakes her head, a hand reaching out to steady herself on the cold chrome walls that surround her. The area is silent other than the strained breaths she pushes out. Ever keen to prove herself, she sucks in her doubts and forces them deep down where they can't bother her.

Her once hesitant fingers now move confidently to the door control, even if there is the slightest shake in them.

The doors open in one swift movement. She sees him, staring straight back at her with confusion he struggles to mask, yet there is a smugness to his expression. "Welcome."

She doesn't wait to be invited in (not that it's really his property to invite guests into, anyway) and moves into the surprisingly large cell with the man. He observes her with a raised brow, watching her every move with calculation.

Rachel, on the other hand, feels her head unable to focus on anything but the spinning thoughts inside. "We need to talk," she states, lips pursing tightly together afterwards.

"Okay."

"Why did you kidnap me?" She's replayed the scenes at the starbase over and over in her head, struggling to make sense of them. She then adds with confusion, ". . . only to save me – and then kidnap me again." Rachel shakes her head, closing her eyes briefly to contain her confusion. When they open again, they focus on the man in question. "And what did you mean when you said we were at war?" She begins to pace, feeling as though her limbs could burst with extra energy, "you didn't mean the Senate and the Empress, did you? You meant . . . _us_ – are you saying that force wielders are themselves under attack? Which wouldn't make any sense because there are three of them that train here at the Senate and you – you worked for Sue so surely you were on her side . . . right?"

He blinks.

"I see these few weeks have given you a lot to think about."

Her forehead creases in undisguised frustration. "Will you please answer my questions, Jesse? I really don't need another person trying to hide things from me."

"Is this really why you've snuck into my cell?" His unyielding stare makes her shift uncomfortably on the spot.

She folds her arms defensively across her chest, "how do you know how I snuck in?"

"Do you honestly think I'm naïve enough to think that Burt Hummel – or anyone in the Senate for that matter – is going to let you see a known "enemy of the state"? Not even your little boyfriend could get you access into here."

Rachel balks at his words, "Finn isn't my boyfriend." She looks down, "not that it's any of _your_ concern."

"No need to get so defensive," he rises from what can barely be called a bed and moves to the small, square window. As she casts her gaze in the same direction as his, she sees the rather unimpressive sight of another building wall. Jesse turns, giving a humourless laugh, "Burt must think this is some sort of joke – apparently this is a _view_." He scoffs.

She finds herself nodding in understanding, then promptly stops herself. _He kidnapped you_ , Rachel adamantly says in her own head.

"Well . . . are you going to answer any of my questions?"

He spins, leaning against the solid wall while his gaze settles harshly on her, "why do you want to know so badly? Hasn't the oh so marvellous William Schuester told you everything you need to know by now? I'm sure two have been getting along like a house on fire."

She can feel her face slip, cursing herself for the minor blip and quickly forces her features back into what she hopes in an unreadable expression. If Jesse's reaction is anything to go by, she failed.

Jesse smirks now, a twinkling of deep thought behind his dark eyes. "I see."

"I didn't say –"

"You didn't have to." He now gently lowers himself to the creaking bed, "I'm surprised, honestly. I really thought that they would be happy to have found you. Especially with the threat of the Empress at an all-time high."

She frowns, "what are you talking about?" The very possibility of having to face Sue again sends shivers up her spine, especially now knowing the woman's thoughts of people like her. "Sue Sylvester wouldn't dare enter the Crusader system."

"Not yet . . . and not alone."

The cold tone of his words sits on her mind uneasily. This certainly isn't where she saw this conversation going. "Jesse, what are you talking about?"

He pauses, as though contemplating whether to share a precious piece of information with her. Despite herself and his past actions, she finds herself being drawn in once more, as though a part of her cannot escape from Jesse's intense glower.

"You made your choice, Rachel." He shrugs, voice bordering on bitter. "You're one of them now – why should I tell you anything?"

She feels her features tighten angrily then, her insides feeling as though they could boil with rage at any passing moment. "You tried to kill Finn, and apparently it bears repeating but you kidnapped me twice. Not once, _twice_! If anything, you at least owe me information about the reasoning that led to these events." She points her finger accusingly, growing in frustration when his reaction is less guilt laden that expected.

"Do you honestly not have any regrets about what happened at the starbase?" she asks, "even when it got you locked up here." A gesture around his dismal conditions seems to do little to get through to him.

Frustrated and angered, she turns on her heel in a swift move. "You know what, I shouldn't have come here . . ."

Just as she reaches the threshold of the doorway, he calls out. " _Wait_!"

Rachel gives pause, daring to throw a look over his shoulder.

Jesse is now on his feet, advancing toward her. For a moment, she fears what will happen, yet relaxes as his movements are too slow to cause alarm. He slows just in front of her, face softer than she's ever seen.

"I'm sorry."

" _You are?_ " she blurts out unexpectedly.

"Yes," he insists in a steady voice. "I shouldn't have done that to you –"

She gives him a look. " _And_ Finn."

"And Finn," he adds noncommittedly. Locking gaze with her, she shudders at the real concern suddenly displayed in his face. "I just – things are not okay, Rachel. They haven't been for a while. Sue wants to destroy all the force wielders so she can somehow use its power for herself. And the Senate . . ."

His pause lasts too long, anguish flooding his features.

Rachel frowns, too. Without thinking, she reaches forward in a gesture of kindness and takes hold of Jesse's arm. "What?"

A wistful sigh escapes his lips, his head shaking ever so softly. "It was a long time ago."

She swallows nervously. The cell suddenly feels tinier than ever and as though the air is slowly leaking from any crevice available. "What happened?" she dares to ask, now wondering if coming here had really been such a good idea after all. With eyes darting toward the only exit, she knows it is too late to leave. Besides, she couldn't let herself go without knowing the truth that Jesse has to share.

"Years ago, there used to be lots like us, Rachel. But the Senate . . . they trained them up just as they do with Hummel's son and the other two. They sent them to fight battle after battle, taking planets that weren't theirs to take." She looks up in confusion, head shaking with disgust. How has she not heard this? Surely her lonely life in the outer rim has not been so secluded to hide her from such horrid events. When her pulls away from Jesse, he reaches out with his own warm fingers and grasps it firmly. "Most died. Some didn't . . . they saw the Senate for what they really were – murderers. Few stayed loyal to the Senators, believed in their cause to "liberate" to universe."

"But how could they?"

"They were blinded by their trust, Rachel. And it was all they knew – of course an epic war began between us. Not only were the force wielders destroyed, but many civilians died in the war, too."

Her entire body feels numb as she absorbs his words, her heart sinking with sadness. All those innocent people . . . and yet she stands here a guest to the very people who have hurt so many.

"I – I feel sick." She starts dramatically, "and awfully faint . . . I need to sit down."

Jesse swiftly leads her to his bed. She perches herself on the end of the firm mattress, face pal and fingers clutching onto her once captor. Rachel tries not to think of the absurdity of the situation, yet these past few weeks have truly turned her life upside down.

"I should have told you sooner, but I was rather hurried when we crossed each other's paths." Jesse kneels before her, confident and assured as he speaks. "As soon as I saw inside your mind, I knew you were not like the others. I wanted to prevent you from getting swept up in the deceit of the Senate before it's too late."

"No chance for that," she replied, voice bitter. "They won't even let me train with the others."

"They won't?" He sounds less surprised than she'd expected yet Rachel doesn't dwell on that and instead swills in her own emotions, each and every one as overwhelming as the next.

She tries to control the tears threatening to spill over, especially in front of Jesse of all people and instead gives a quick shake of her head. "I don't think they trust me. Not since they saw me with you." Her eyes widen. "Is this why you left the Senate – because of what they did?"

"Yes," he says swiftly, softly. "I couldn't bear the thought of all those people hurt in our name. But look where it has got me . . . in a cell for quite possibly the rest of my life. Oh, the burden of an honest man is heavy and yet – I must carry it."

Rachel sniffles, but stands firmly now. Her face hardens, eyes wrought with determination even as her world once again flips. "But that's not fair, Jesse." She gulps, unable to believe that she's about to say this, "you're not the bad guy."

"Thank you, it's nice to have someone understand." His gaze doesn't falter, staring longingly into her chocolate eyes. Rachel finds herself falling under whatever spell they are casting. When she looks down, she realizes that his hand is gently holding hers once more, and she doesn't pull back.

"I understand, and I wish I knew how to help you."

His fingers tighten around hers. "You can help me, Rachel."

" _How_?"

"Learn what you can from them, but when they try to use you, _run_. Run as far away as you can and save yourself."

She nods. "Okay."

* * *

Finn paces back and forth in front of the door, muttering possible openers to greet her. Each one sounds as stupid as the next, so much that he considers hitting his head against the steel walls. "C'mon, think of something cool!" he says in an attempt to knock some confidence into himself.

"Finn?"

He gasps, jumping so high he swears his head could hit the ceiling. Thankfully it doesn't and he spins to see the very girl that has been on his mind walking up to him. She seems confused at his presence, yet not unwelcoming. He smiles.

"Er, hi Rach." He straightens up, acting as though he had barely reacted to her entrance. If anything, this seems to make a smile grow onto her plump lips . . . that he is suddenly staring at. _Snap out of it Finn!_

"Hi," she responds, voice a little meeker than he's accustom to.

With a firm clear of his throat, he continues, "how are you?" She tilts her head in questioning at his unusually polite greeting, so much that he heaves out a long sigh. "Okay, I'll be honest. I saw you yesterday when you were leaving the Senate building and you look really pissed and upset – I did try to follow you . . . not in a weird way or anything though. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." She only stares at him. "So . . . I am here now . . . checking if that is in fact true – are you . . . _alright_?"

Her confusion melts away to genuine appreciation. "That is really sweet of you, Finn. It is a pleasure to know that I have a true friend here even as I face adversity."

He nods, totally pretending that he knows what that means. And he definitely tries not to get butthurt at the word friend, knowing full well that _that_ is his own fault. "Yeah, well if you ever need a friend . . . here I am." He pauses, "why exactly did you look so angry?"

She pulls a sour face, almost as though she was dreading the question being asked. Her fingers play with the hem of her shirt and she gives a curt shake of her head. "It was nothing, really – just growing frustration to my . . . predicament with Will and his so called guidance. You know, the usual."

His face falls, "he's still saying you shouldn't train with the others! But we need you! Especially now that –" Finn cuts himself short, unsure of what she knows about the ship landing. All he knows is that things are not right, nor are they good. She perks up in interest, brows knitting together tightly.

"Now that . . .?"

He panics, heart seizing as he scrambles to at least get a sentence together. "Now that you're . . . _here_. With us. And like, totally willing to train." Rachel tilts her head, unconvinced, and he swallows thickly, trying to stop his eyes from darting about nervously.

She eventually nods. "You're absolutely right, Finn. There is no time like the present. Which is why I must go and continue my studies, even if it is the more theoretical side. There is so much to learn and so little time." Her eyes flash with a thought, "speaking of which – do you remember how you said that you had specialised access to the Senate's records."

"Yeah." He frowns.

"I was actually hoping to fully round my education here and learn as much as possible about the Senate – its history. Even these very walls that we live in! Don't you find history fascinating?"

Finn feels himself nodding along dumbly. "Yeah, I could help you." She suddenly beams, all traces of her annoyance gone. "Anything for you, Rach. You saved my life." Her lips twitch with effort yet the expression barely falters. He quickly adds, "And you know what, screw what the Senators say! Like, you should totally be practising with the force. It's part of who you are."

"Finn," she looks down, "I don't think I should –"

He waves off her concerns. "I know you don't want anyone finding out, but I think I can help you." He leans in closer, a flirtatious whisper following. "I know a place where no one will find. It'll be just you and me. We'll take some stuff, you can practise all your awesome force stuff and no one will even know!" He pauses, "well, except me, but it's my idea so . . ."

Rachel mulls over his words for what feels like hours yet he knows it's barely a few minutes. Eventually, she nods, before asking. "No one will know?"

Crossing a hand over his heard, he grins. "On my honor as . . . um, _me_."

She laughs, an angelic sound that makes him feel all light and happy. "Okay."

* * *

 **Hope whoever is out there enjoyed this. I will try my best to update it a lot quicker than previously!**


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